By KEN HORNACK
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Getting Bethune-Cookman volleyball coach Isaac Raphael to think globally doesn't require much of a stretch, although it does require a lot of hard work and effort.
Now he's working on trying to get a roster which consists largely of players recruited from outside the United States to develop into a cohesive unit. In an ideal situation, that would occur right before the Wildcats open their season August 30 against Jacksonville in the Florida Atlantic Invitational in Boca Raton. But for a team predicted to finish in fourth place in the Southern Division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, peaking by the time of the MEAC tournament in mid-November in Baltimore could be an even higher priority.
“They made it through the preseason,” Raphael said. “They've been working hard, so I've been very happy with that. Now it's just the little things we've got to work on.”
One not-so-little area of concern is finding a way to replace Krysta Gardner, the program's all-time leader in kills and service aces, and Janeen Davis. Sophomores Delicia Pierre and Phylecia Armstrong might be up for that challenge. Both stand 6-foot-2, and both hail from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
“When you're 6-2 and you can jump, that makes a huge difference,” Raphael said.
Pierre and Armstrong are part of the team's considerable international representation. Sophomore Rhea Simon and freshman Merissa Murphy are, like Raphael, natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Two other newcomers, Jill Arlaud and Normarie Rolon, arrived on campus from Suriname and Puerto Rico, respectively.
It's not as if Raphael rejects the notion of seeking out local talent, as is evident by presence of senior Jennifer Jimenez and freshman Alexas Thomas from nearby Brevard County. But given his background, it would be unrealistic for him to not look beyond the borders.
“I do a lot of international coaching,” he said. “So in my travels, I get to meet a lot of players and I have quite a few contacts who are always sending me information about players, this kid or that kid. It's a lot more work to get an international kid. It's a lot of paperwork. It's a pretty tough process, but it's paying off.”
Thomas is being counted on right away to become B-CU's setter. Jimenez, the only senior on the roster, is already the all-time leader in school history in digs, a skill that demands what Raphael calls a “fearless to the point of being borderline crazy” approach.
“You have to go after everything,” he said. “It's a position where you don't get a lot of notoriety. People notice the big hitters, but you go after every single ball when you're on the court. And she's done a good job of that.”
Aside from Jimenez and junior Aria Cormier, the Wildcats will field one of the conference's least-experienced squads.
“You'd like to have a balance of three in each year. But that's the way it works out sometimes,” Raphael said. “Would I like to have more senior leadership? Of course. Eventually it will balance itself out.”
As far as the preseason rankings, Raphael is confident his players have what it takes to prove others wrong when they begin the MEAC portion of their schedule September 27 at South Carolina State.
“The rankings kind of go by how you finished last year,” he said. “But I think we have as good a chance as anybody else. It's pretty wide open this season.”
