There is nothing glamorous about being a setter. Kills and blocks yield points and fanfare, but assists in volleyball are understated and overlooked.
Not that junior setter Elyse Glab is complaining.
“A setter is sort of like a chess master on the court,” she said. “It’s all about putting other players in the position to best score.”
Glab, who is fifth in the Big Ten in assists, has wanted to be a setter since she was 12, when she begged her coach to let her play the position.
“I was so scared to ask him, and then he said no,” Glab said. “But I worked all year and I got to play setter the next year. I was so happy and that’s what I have played ever since.”
As NU’s floor captain, Glab is responsible for orchestrating the offense while reading the other team’s block. She dictates the pace and style of attack, calling plays like a quarterback, only without the luxury of much downtime.
“Elyse is the connector,” said coach Keylor Chan, who worked exclusively with the setters for the first time over the summer. “Without her we can’t put the pieces together and create an offense.”
With sophomore outside hitter Madalyn Shalter injured, the Wildcats have had to rely on different players to mount a cohesive offense, specifically their middles. Glab has been finding junior middle blocker Sabel Moffett all season, helping Moffett climb to fourth in the conference in hitting percentage and sixth in points.
“If a set is too high or too out, I need to be able to talk to her to see if I can get a better hit,” Moffett said. “Elyse is a really good listener but she will also give you advice if she sees something is off.”
NU (11-11, 2-8 Big Ten) will need Glab and Moffett to continue connecting in order to compete with Purdue (11-10, 3-7) and Indiana (14-10, 3-7) on the road. The Boilermakers and the Hoosiers share more than just the same conference record; both teams pushed the Cats to five sets before losing in Welsh-Ryan Arena earlier this season. NU notched its only conference victories against the pair of teams, capitalizing on strong attacking performances from Moffett and fellow junior middle blocker Naomi Johnson.
“Our offense is stronger than it’s ever been, at least while I have been here and our middles have really been important,” Glab said. “We have this really amazing solid base that we are just looking to build off in the second half of the Big Ten.”
NU will have to rebound after losing on the road to Iowa and Wisconsin last weekend and attempt to notch a win away from Evanston for the first time this season. A win this weekend would mark the Cat’s first road win in the Big Ten since their 2008 upset at Illinois last October.
“Being at their places this weekend, we’re probably going to need a little luck,” Chan said. “But hopefully we can make some of our own too.”
