Much like a baseball pitcher who goes from having a flame-throwing arm to relying on off-speed pitches after an injury, Jennifer Wylie has learned to make adjustments on the volleyball court.
Following two shoulder surgeries in two years, Wylie realized her future as an impact player was no longer coming up with key blocksand kills on the front line. Instead, she concentrated on improving her defense, passing and play along the back row as the libero for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Wylie, a 5-foot-10 senior from Timonium, averages a team-high 5.1 digs per game and has 495 on the year for the Retrievers (15-14), who are preparing to face Binghamton Saturday in Albany, N.Y., in the America East tournament semifinals. For UMBC coach Ian Blanchard, Wylie?s contributions cannot be measured by statistics alone.
“Jennifer is absolutely a steadying force on our serve-receive game and our defense,” Blanchard said. “Those that are just casual fans don?t realize how important her contributions are on the court.”
Blanchard should know. He coached her on his club team, and while both were at Dulaney High, they led the Lions to a Class 4A state title in 2000.
After graduating from high school in 2003, Wylie played two seasons at Division III New York University, where she helped lead the school to an 80-12 record and back-to-back Division III national semifinal appearances, including a title match berth her freshman year.
However, Wylie, a pre-med major, was looking for a change and a school closer to home two years ago when Blanchard got hired at UMBC. Everything else fell into place.
“The hardest adjustment I had to make at NYU was playing under a new system because I had played for coach Blanchard for so long,” Wiley said. “Getting used to playing at the Division I level was not too difficult because of the experience I had playing in the Division III championship. Coming to UMBC was just a natural fit.”
THE WILEY FILE
» Age: 21
» Position: Libero/outside hitter
» Did you know? Wiley is considered a versatile player that can be used on every position on the court. … While at NYU, Wiley finished fourth among Division III players in 2004, finishing with 282 kills, while also contributing 289 digs and 28 blocks … While in high school, Wiley also played softball and reached the state final in 2001
