@CanesVB Focused on Improvement this Spring
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For 34 days this spring, the University of Miami volleyball team will be back on the court working to get better following its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Canes began their spring training on Monday. Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara is excited to see how much his team can improve in his second spring at the helm of Hurricane volleyball.
“It’s great to have the girls back,” Gandara said. “They are already working hard and focused on getting better. We have 34 training days to make as much progress as we can.”
A year ago, the Hurricanes headed into spring practice without a head coach. Gandara, who took over as Miami’s head coach on March 20, 2013, joined the program in the middle of the spring period and began implementing his system immediately. Now that it has been a year since his arrival, Gandara expects his team to take a significant step forward during spring practice.
“We are more familiar with our system and mechanics so we should make more progress,” Gandara said. “The emphasis is always about getting better. We have a chance to really develop individually and collectively.”
Rising senior Emani Sims believes the Hurricanes will benefit greatly from their familiarity with Gandara and his system.
“Knowing and understanding the system has definitely accelerated the things that we’re working on in practice,” Sims said. “A year ago, we were working on the basics. Now we can be more aggressive with our skills and focus on fixing the little things.”
The Canes currently have three competition dates scheduled for this spring. Miami will participate in a tournament at Lynn University of March 29. The Hurricanes will also host Barry University at 7 p.m. on April 4. A match against Miami-Dade College previously scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 11 has been postponed and will be rescheduled for another date. Admission is free to both home contests at the James L. Knight Sports Complex.
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