Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

There isn’t much more that Rachel Witt can do on the court for the Rutgers-Newark women’s volleyball program.

After all, the junior from Basking Ridge, N.J. has led the Scarlet Raiders in practically every offensive category for the first two years of her R-N career. The 5-foot-11 middle hitter led the Scarlet Raiders in points, point average, kills, kills average, hitting percentage, service aces and blocks the last two years and she’s well on her way to achieving more of the same in 2011.

But new Scarlet Raider head coach Joshua Coffing would love to see Witt do more of the intangible things, like being more of a vocal leader.

“She’s a little too quiet and reserved for my taste,” Coffing said. “We have only two seniors on the roster, but as one of our top players, we need Rachel to be more vocal and need her to be more of a leader.”

Witt understands that her role to a young team is vital.

“For some reason, I’m a little quieter when I play,” Witt said. “When I’m with friends, I talk all the time and I can be loud, but it’s not the same when I’m playing. I need to work on being more vocal and being a leader. I was a captain my senior year in high school (Ridge High School), so I know what it takes. But it’s part of my personality. I never really like telling people what to do. I just like doing it.”

And it’s safe to say that Witt is very good at doing what she does on the court. She earned honorable mention All-New Jersey Athletic Conference last season and may very well duplicate the feat or do even better this year.

Witt has already collected 92 kills in 12 matches and has 18 service aces this season.

“She’s a very good athlete who wants to win very badly,” Coffing said. “She has put in the necessary time and effort to be a good player. When she makes a big hit, she gets the rest of the team fired up. She also helps the defense out with her ability to block. She’s our main weapon, so we try to get the ball to her.”

Coffing said that it’s important to have a presence at middle hitter.
“It’s huge,” Coffing said. “The better the middle hitter you have, the better the team is. It makes the rest of the game easier. She hits the ball so hard. She’s a powerful hitter. She puts a lot of pop on the ball.”

Witt likes being the center of attention.

“I like that idea,” Witt said. “I want to be able to help the team out. Sure, there’s some pressure sometimes at that position and I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself. But I want to win more than anything. I want the team to go far.”

Witt also knows that her powerful hits can be momentum changers.

“I like being able to slam the ball down,” Witt said. “I work on that a lot in practice.”

Coffing, who was an assistant coach for three seasons before taking over the head coaching responsibility this year, remembers the first day he saw Witt in practice.

“I knew that we had a solid middle hitter,” Coffing said. “I knew she was good and was only going to get better.”

Coffing likes the versatility that Witt shows, even if she is a prototypical middle hitter.

“She’s good around the ball and she does a good job on the back row as well,” Coffing said. “She’s played the game long enough to know what needs to be done. She reads the game well and she’s smart enough to know where she has to be. That comes with experience.”

Witt is majoring in social work at R-N and wants to eventually work with children.

“I started off in the business school as a marketing major, but I found out that it wasn’t for me,” Witt said. “I think I made the right move. At least, I hope I did.”

But there was no question about her making the right choice about college, even if she grew up just a stone’s throw away from the main Rutgers University campus in Piscataway.

“I liked Rutgers-Newark, because it was close to home and I wanted the Rutgers name,” Witt said. “It has a good academic reputation and I was also just able to play volleyball as well. I’m glad I made the right choice.”

Coffing likes Witt’s general personality.

“She’s a happy-go-lucky girl,” Coffing said. “Everyone likes her. She gets along with everyone. She’s also a very diligent student. You would really want what Rachel has in every single student-athlete we have.”

Witt just wants to make an impact.

“I think we keep making strides as a team,” Witt said. “I just want us to be as successful as we can be.”

If only the Scarlet Raiders could just get a few more wins.

“Even though we have a young team, there are so many things that are possible for us,” Witt said.

As long as Rachel Witt is leading the way, anything is possible.