By Andy Solomon

Forget – for the moment – that the number of wins is not the measuring device with which to prove that Citadel volleyball is indeed improving.

The proof is in the numbers as we’ve checked the facts and the stats, particularly the digs and blocks.

To the novice volleyball fan, digs are what keeps the ball alive and blocks are exactly what you think they are but are those that score points.

The sport began at The Citadel with the 1998 season when Col. Bonnie Jo Houchen, who worked in the Commandant’s Department, started the program from scratch.  And the Bulldogs did scratch out a victory on the last game of the season, beating Columbia College, 3-0, in McAlister Field House.

Since that was the first team, let’s attempt to compare apples with apples.  We’ll fast-forward to the 2004 season where the team won a program-high 12 of 32 games that included Southern Conference victories over Western Carolina (twice), UNC Greensboro and Davidson. 

Now let’s take a look at the recent 2008 campaign in which Coach Carolyn Geiger’s squad won 9 of 31 games.

One of the highlights of the ‘08 season was defeating Appalachian State for the first time in program history, and the win came on the road at Boone, NC.  Also in ’08, 18 sets were decided by two points which equates to 16 games throughout the season that The Citadel lost by a mere two points. 

The Bulldogs’ strength of the schedule has improved significantly as seven of the 12 victories in 2004 came against non-Division I opponents and all 2008 victories came against D-I foes.  

Statistically, comparing ’04 with ’08 shows that the Bulldogs have improved a great deal. 

In ’04, our blocks per set average was 1.31 and it slightly improved to 1.37 in ’08 yet the digs per set average in ’04 was 12.76 while in ’08 it improved to 16.08.

What does this mean?  We all know that stats don’t lie so the bottom line is that we’re improving by keeping the ball in play longer and putting pressure on the opposition while our net play is improving by scoring more points there.

Not necessarily drastic advancement, but steady inclines to be sure.  Want more proof?

For example, rival College of Charleston is the perennial power in the Southern Conference.  When the Cougars won at McAlister Field House in 2004, the scores were 15-30, 21-30 and 16-30, an average score of 17-30 (a losing margin of -13).  When our George Street neighbors won in 2008 – and with the sets’ scoring adjusted from 30 to 25 --  the scores were 19-25, 22-25 and 19-25, an average score of 20-25 (a margin of -5).

Further proof that the gap has been closed.

Yet while Coach Geiger and trusted assistant Amir Khaledi, a former head coach at Charleston Southern, continue working hard to build the volleyball program, let’s let the improved numbers – and the facts – reiterate that the program is indeed heading in the right direction.