A complete set at St. Francis

It didn't take long for setter Michelle Kocher to earn a nickname from St. Francis girls volleyball coach Peg Kopec.

While most freshmen were still busy finding their way around the hallways of their new school, Kocher was helping guide one of Illinois' winningest programs to a state championship by playing the sport's most demanding position. Kopec dubbed her "The Ice Princess."

"She was cool and calm," Kopec said. "That's why she made the varsity as a freshman. What a gift from heaven."

Four years later Kocher is part of a bushel full of elite setters grown in DuPage County. At the top of the bumper crop are four returning all-area setters who have committed to Division I programs -- Kocher (Texas), Wheaton Warrenville South's Annie Luhrsen (Connecticut), Neuqua Valley's Paige Stevens (Iowa) and Downers Grove North's Erica Behm (North Carolina).

All have set their teams to success. Kocher has already helped St. Francis win two states titles, Luhrsen has guided WW South's ascension into a perennial state power, Stevens has led Neuqua Valley to its best season and Behm has directed Downers North to back-to-back undefeated runs through the West Suburban Silver.

And they're not done yet. Together, they've led their ranked teams to a combined 47-10 record heading into Thursday night's action. It's no accident each has played an instrumental part in her team's victories. They play a position where excellence is essential for a team to be special.

"A good setter makes average hitters look great," Immaculate Conception coach Jean Field. "I think that's the key. You can have all the cannons you want, but if you don't have somebody to load the cannon, forget it."

"I think having a great setter is as important or more important than having a great hitter," Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said.

Calm and collected

A setter must possess good hands, quick feet and the strength and talent to deliver the ball in good position for a hitter to spike it. But such physical attributes honed over time by countless repetitions performed over years are just the start.

"At this competitive level it's taken for granted that you have all the skills and knowledge," Kocher said. "What you've got in your head then is the difference in the game. You have to be so in tune to what everyone else is doing. I would say setting is more of a mind game than anything. That's why I try to keep my cool.

"I'm definitely a naturally laid-back person, but I do personally think that a setter needs to have some sort of calmness about her or him just because you do have to be so aware of everything else on the court, whether it be your side or the other side, blocking-wise. If the setter is kind of out of control, then the rhythm of the game is out of control."

"It's definitely a very mental game," Luhrsen said.

Intelligence is required to be an effective setter. Kocher, Luhrsen, Stevens and Behm have high grade-point averages, and that translates to them making smart, split-second decisions in rapid fire on the court.

"I definitely think you have to be smart," Stevens said. "You have to be able to think on your feet very quick because if a play's not working and a team's got a 5-0 run on you, you've got to think of something else real quick and make it work."

"They have to be aware of everything on the court at all times," Downers North coach Laura Johnwick said of setters. "Their knowledge of the game has to be so much above everyone."

"It's rigorous as far as mentally," WW South coach Bill Schreier. "There's just so many variables that you're trying to take into consideration all at the same time. I think sometimes you see that with younger setters it's almost like they overload on visual and verbal stimuli. You've got to sort through all the stuff."

The option play

While setters serve, block and play defense, too, their primary job is to deliver the ball to hitters. A good setter tracks down the pass to her, determines the best option to set and delivers the ball in good position for a hitter to produce a kill.

"The better they are, the more options they have," Kopec said. "If you're passing on a dime now she can dish out the ball to whomever. There's so many more options, and that's what screws up the defense."

A defense puts up as many as three blockers against one hitter. The trick is to send the ball to a hitter who is going up against only one block or, in rare cases, no block at all.

A key for a setter to determining where the blocks will form is noticing where the opponent's middle hitter will position herself across the net.

"I think one of the most underrated qualities of setters is just strategy," Kocher said. "Getting your hitter one blocker is probably our most important job, at least when it comes to more competitive play.

"Ultimately the biggest game is between the setter and the middle on the opponent's side. I'm supposed to notice if they're cheating to one side or another. If they're going one way, I set the other way. As a good setter you're supposed to be able to use your peripheral vision and see which way the middle's leaning toward."

One way for an offense to equalize a defense is to run a quick attack to give blockers less time to move into position. On a quick set a setter lofts the ball just above the net for a hitter to quickly slam down. It's a play difficult to defend. It's also one that requires perfect timing.

"Everything's got to be there," Schreier said. "The pass has to be there. The hitter has to be on the right timing. The setter has to read that. There's a lot of variables there that are going to happen in that split second. We always talk about that you're either going to look great or you're going to look terrible. There's no in-between. It's almost like an all-or-nothing set.

"Why it's important is because it keeps the pressure off the outside. And anything that can hold that middle blocker just long enough to open up a seam for your outside hitter is going to be tremendously important."

Jump ball

Jump setting also can cause blockers to hold their ground in the middle. When a setter is in the front row, she can jump when she goes to set, causing defenses to wonder if she's going to set one of her teammates or hit the ball herself.

"Even if I jump and I'm ready to swing," said Luhrsen, an offensive-minded setter who has the advantage of being a lefty, "if I see that the middle is jumping with me, then I can just go to the outside or middle and have a solo block on them."

Stevens is such a good hitter that Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon has her setter play hitter half the time in a 6-2 offense.

"She was our kill leader last year not only in terms of kills, but also in terms of kill efficiency, so that's how effective she is as an attacker," Simon said. "We knew coming into this season we absolutely needed her to hit as well. She's carried our offense not only as a setter, but as an attacker. We want to utilize that strength.

"We see her as a setter first and foremost, but she definitely is an offensive weapon for us that has been huge in our success."

Stevens juggles setting and hitting with aplomb.

"I don't mind it at all because I love to hit, too," Stevens said. "As a setter you have to step up and take that leadership role. You have to be a leader on and off the court and with communication skills. Being a hitter just takes your leadership role to the next level when you're able to put balls away."

Setters must be leaders. Behm leads by example with how hard she works in each practice.

"She has to switch her shirt twice," Johnwick said. "She gives 110 percent. She really does go above and beyond."

Setters must be mentally tough. When a hitter smacks the ball into the net, it's common to see her motion to the setter to set the ball higher. It can be volleyball sign language for, "It wasn't my fault!"

"I always tell my hitters that if the ball isn't good, yell at me," Behm said. "I can take it. If they make a mistake, I always tell them it's my fault and don't worry about it whether it's a good set or not because you don't let your hitters get down on themselves. That can take you out of the game in the blink of an eye."

QB or lineman?

The often-repeated analogy is that a setter is the quarterback of a volleyball team. That might be selling a setter short given all a setter must do, and certainly the credit, or lack thereof, they can receive.

"You get the quarterback mentality in a setter, but sometimes it ends up being the offensive lineman recognition," Schreier said. "You know, the other guy gets all the yardage in football and it's because the offensive line, where in high school volleyball the people who get all the kills are usually the ones who are always mentioned in the papers and everything else. The setter sometimes just becomes expected. They get lost in the shuffle. It's the unfortunate nature of the position."

However, trophy cases around here tell the real story. Thanks in big part to the strength of setters in the area, DuPage County teams have won six state titles in five years, including the last two in Class AA. Penn State-bound Jessica Yanz set Naperville Central to the big-school championship in 2005, and Kocher led St. Francis to the title in 2006.

"There's something to be said for that," Schreier said.

"I agree 100 percent," Johnwick said. "Where would volleyball be without a setter?"