Crown Point senior Rachel Rossman is out of her comfort zone.
The Bulldogs’ 5-foot-7 setter, who will play for Horizon League program Oakland next year, is doing things on the court that are challenging the fourth-year varsity player in new and different ways in every match.
She’s not alone in this venture away from her on-court routine, either.
“Getting out of our comfort zone is something we’ve been working on a lot here,” Rossman said. “It’s about having the confidence that, in those pressure situations, I’ll know we can do these things 24/7. That’s what it ultimately comes down to.”
During a home match against Duneland Athletic Conference rival LaPorte on Tuesday, Rossman was all over the court, recording a team-high 30 assists while adding 16 digs during Crown Point’s 27-25, 25-19, 25-19 victory.
Crown Point (17-4, 9-0) outlasted LaPorte (12-9, 5-4) in a hard-fought first set before grabbing early leads on the way to wins in each of the next two.
Rossman, who reached 2,500 career assists during the match, was the architect of Crown Point’s attack, distributing the ball to seniors Kendall Schara, Lilly Stoddard, Paige Schalow and Kyla Oppenhuis. Schara, Stoddard and Schalow each had eight kills, and Oppenhuis added seven.
But having that many options available is part of what’s challenging Rossman this fall. A long list of possible hitters who are attacking the net with different routes on every set are keeping Rossman from being complacent with her current skill level, forcing her to evolve.
“It’s something we’ve never done before at all,” she said. “It’s nice seeing everyone step out of their comfort zone. We’re even trying a new defense sometimes. It’s been great seeing everyone collaborate on it.”
To prepare for this challenge, Rossman said she paid extra attention to her physical conditioning in the offseason, spending countless hours in the weight room at school while attending speed and agility sessions at the St. Anthony Sports Medicine Institute in Crown Point.
Rossman said she noticed the benefits from the extra work during her club season in the spring.
“I just remember there was one time where I was thinking that I never would’ve gotten my hands on that ball before,” she said.
Coach Alison Duncan used the word “amazing” to describe Rossman’s versatility on the court and praised the entire team for embracing the challenge of experimenting with new tactics during the regular season.
“What’s great about this team is that the kids have really bought in to the premise of distributing the ball to everyone now so that they’re ready for the postseason,” Duncan said. “We want to get everybody ready, not just rely on one person. It’s about having everyone step up and having an involved team.”
LaPorte coach Jessica Ramirez lamented her team’s inability to maintain its high level of play from the first set.
“When we were up, we needed to stay up instead of going through those lulls,” she said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of fluctuations. … We really need to focus on keeping that momentum.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
