One player in particular — like always — is expected to deliver as the Rutgers volleyball team heads into its final weekend of conference play at home.
Junior outside hitter Caitlin Saxton has been the Scarlet Knights’ ace in the hole this season in almost all aspects of the game.
Not only does she lead the team in kills with 319, but she is tied for the lead in service aces with 20 and ranks second under senior libero Jamie Godfrey for digs with 228 on the season.
“Her openness to try and do things and getting outside her comfort zone … helped her success this year,” said head coach CJ Werneke, whose team goes for its 10th win of the season this weekend. “Having some failures before she had successes and understanding that that’s OK [was important for her progress].”
The Encinitas, Calif., native’s contributions to the team were recognized this week when she was named to the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll after putting up strong performances against DePaul and Notre Dame. Saxton was the second member of the team to receive the honor this season.
“I was really proud of myself, but also of my team because I guess when you think back to last year, we never had a chance to have anyone named to the Big East Honor Roll,” Saxton said. “So for me to be the second player named, it’s exciting for the whole team and it just shows how far we’ve come.”
Saying that Saxton improved since last year would be an understatement.
In her first year on the Banks after transferring from California Santa Barbara, Saxton made an impact on the team, notching 209 kills.
She saw the transfer to RU as an opportunity to help make something from the rebuilding program.
“I just wanted to keep playing volleyball and it was also a chance for me to come into a program that wasn’t already established,” Saxton said. “It was more of a rebuilding process, and I wanted to be apart of that because I think that anyone can go into a good program and be good and keep that program going, but it takes another type of person to go into a program that hasn’t been established yet and really make something of it.”
Seeing the sophomore’s prowess at the game, then-first-year coach Werneke and staff began to focus on Saxton’s gameplay, looking to turn her into a true weapon.
“[We would talk about] her offensive game, how to hit different shots, deal with different sets, move the ball around and keep the defense on its toes,” Werneke said.
Then, after just one season with the Knights, her teammates voted her and Godfrey team co-captains for the 2009 season.
To have earned the entire team’s trust like that in one year was no small feat, Werneke said.
“She was voted team captain by her teammates,” Werneke said. “There’s no better acceptance than that. They’ve embraced her not only as a player but as a person, and that’s been one of the good stepping stones for our program.”
That very same team captain now has 319 kills, eclipsing last year’s mark by 110, and is just 90 shy of cracking RU’s all-time top-10 for kills in a season.
While cracking that list may not happen this year with four games left to play, Werneke believes that Saxton has potential to be something truly great.
“Anything’s possible,” Werneke said. “I wouldn’t rule anything out. If she continues [to work on] some of the things we think she can improve on, she will improve. Hopefully we [can be] a little better along the board and not rely on her so much, so hopefully we can spread our offense a little more, but then that can only improve her success rate.”
For the rest of the season, Saxton simply looks to exert the same, if not more effort into her work, now that she has a Big East Honor Roll mention under her belt.
“I try the hardest to be the best I can, so it’s nice to have some recognition,” Saxton said. “But I’m doing better this season because of our team doing better.”
Saxton thrilled to be part of rebuilding process
Published: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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