Mindset, competitiveness focus for DeKalb volleyball in offseason

As the DeKalb girls volleyball team enters its second set of summer workouts under coach Keith Foster, the focus has been on becoming a more aggressive, more confident team.

With the season set to start in a month, the Barbs are optimistic for what they can accomplish this year.

“Conference teams haven’t really seen DeKalb as a threat,” senior libero Molly Fell said. “They’re going to see us as a threat now. They’ll see we can compete against them instead of, ‘Oh, we can just shake off DeKalb.’ We’re going to really, really fight for every single thing we can do.”

DeKalb went 16-20 last year and 2-8 in the DuPage Valley Conference. When the Barbs beat Neuqua Valley on Oct. 3, it was their first DVC win in almost three years.

The 16 wins were the most since they went 25-12 in 2017, their last season with a winning record.

Junior middle hitter Jordan Grant said she really wanted to see more discipline, drive and desire out of the Barbs this offseason.

She said so far, she’s liked how the team’s mental game has developed.

“I feel like we wanted it, but this year we WANT it,” Grant said with extra emphasis on the second want. “Last year it was a lot of, ‘Oh, that happened,’ ‘We’re not good,’ or ‘Oh, we can’t change it, it’s DeKalb.’

“But this year it’s like we want it, we put the work in, we put the time in,” she said. “We want to show we’re here and we’re ready to play.”

Foster said he’s been trying to instill the importance of expecting to win on the team. And what he’s seen so far, he said, is a big leap forward from last year to this.

“You’re starting to see they’re focusing on competing and preparing to win,” said Foster, who guided Genoa-Kingston to a Class 2A state championship in 2022. “Before they didn’t expect to win. They thought playing their hardest was what was most important. I helped them to understand that playing hard is important, but expecting and competing to win is also important.”

Last year’s roster had six seniors and six juniors. This year’s balance is lining up to be the same, Foster said.

He’s hoping this year’s group of seniors turn into aggressive, competitive leaders who don’t lose their compassion and kindness.

“The seniors are so sweet, they’ll give you cavities,” Foster said. “We’re trying to get them to be competitive and aggressive and tough in their leadership. Still, of course, compassionate and all the things that matter, but we want to change our identity a little bit.”

Fell, who along with Grant was honorable mention on the 2024 Daily Chronicle All-Area Girls Volleyball Team, said this year’s team is a very intense group that is always ready to compete.

“We have some really, really strong seniors that are just like a really, really close-knit group,” Fell said. “We’ve been playing together for four years. But honestly the juniors and sophomores that have stepped up have been insane. We’re really dominating this year, and I feel like we’re starting a lot stronger than we did last summer.”