Kristina Baum is a versatile, experienced player who can shift positions based on what the Arizona volleyball team needs.
But after Baum suffered what appeared to be an MCL sprain to her right knee, which will keep her out at least a week, it became quickly clear that the Wildcats will miss her leadership as much as anything else.
Already a young team in transition, the Wildcats foundered once Baum went down in the first game Friday morning in their Wildcat Classic match with Bradley.
Although they rebounded in an evening match with Montana State, winning 30-21, 30-21, 30-18, the Wildcats beat Bradley 30-28, 30-24, 30-28 in a match coach Dave Rubio indicated should not have been that close.
"In the first game, we were pretty smooth until Kristina went down, and then all of a sudden, we kind of panicked or, I don't know," Rubio said. "We should be disciplined enough and mature enough as a group, that regardless of who goes down, we have enough people to plug in there without skipping a beat. Maybe those are kind of unrealistic expectations, but that's what we hope."
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Rubio immediately inserted Amy Dyck in for Baum, then tried Randy Goodenough. He was not thrilled with either.
Dyck recorded a kill to give the UA a 29-28 lead in the first game, but made three errors before that.
"You're frustrated as a coach, because you never know when their time is gonna come, and when it did, they weren't ready," Rubio said. "So it hurt the team because they weren't ready."
As did her teammates, Dyck had a much better evening. She had 10 kills with only one error in 18 attempts.
"Tonight, I just said, 'Here's my chance,' " Dyck said. "This is what I love doing. I'm not sure what my problem was this morning, but I came out tonight thinking, 'There's nothing to lose; just go for it.' "
In the morning match, the Wildcats were saved by strong individual performances from Dominique Lamb, who had 15 kills and only three errors in the first match, and Brooke Buringrud, who had 16 kills. Rubio also cited the play of liberos Brittany Leonard and Katie Jackels, but the individual performances did not completely fix a shaky chemistry.
Rubio said Friday night he did not want to schedule any more 10 a.m. games, but Lamb and Buringrud said the early start against Bradley was no excuse.
"For how hard we train and for how hard we fight for each other, a game like that should never happen," Buringrud said.
Both Buringrud and Lamb said the UA players began adequately taking on Baum's leadership duties, and the Wildcats may have to get used to it.
Rubio said Baum would undergo an MRI on Sunday, which will determine the extent of damage; he said she could be out for up to eight weeks if there is a meniscus tear.
"She's really the person we couldn't afford to lose," Rubio said. "Not only the physical, but more the leadership role she provides for us. … The hope is we got the players to step in and take over for Kristina's spot."
