Handling Change With Care : Golden West’s Dafforn Makes Adjustment From Volleyball Hitter to Setter

Barrie Dafforn has found that becoming a setter was not a setback to her volleyball career.

Dafforn was an all-state and All-South Coast Conference outside hitter for Golden West College last season but was moved to setter this season.

Golden West Coach Al Gasparian had many reasons for the move.

Golden West gained three transfers--Kim Gray from Whitworth College, Laura Phillips from Rhode Island and Samantha Caldwell from Washington State--this fall, and all were outside hitters.

Then there was Gasparian’s hunch.

“It was just a feeling,” Gasparian said. “It was something I’ve never done before. In fact, I don’t know anyone that has done it many times. It’s like taking your starting tailback and moving him to safety. Well, that’s not even right. I’m not really sure what it’s like. But it worked.

“She (Dafforn) is such a versatile and talented player, I knew she could make the adjustments.”

Dafforn proved to be a quick study.

She averaged 9.4 assists a game this season and led Golden West to a 14-0 South Coast Conference mark and a conference title. She was voted the conference’s most valuable player.

Dafforn is being recruited by Nevada Reno but doesn’t want to think about where she will play next season until this one is over.

Golden West (23-1), the top-seeded team in the Southern California Regionals, is No. 1-ranked in the state coaches’ poll.

Golden West swept 13 of 14 conference matches this season. Only Pasadena extended Golden West past three games, but the Rustlers rallied to win, 15-11, 13-15, 15-11, 11-15, 16-14, at Pasadena Nov. 13.

The Rustlers will play Moorpark Tuesday at home at 7:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the eight-team state tournament Saturday and Sunday at Cypress College.

Dafforn, 20, found there was plenty to get used to besides the physical requirements of switching from hitter to setter.

“I really had to learn to control myself on the court,” she said. “The setter has to try and keep everybody up but stay in control herself. You don’t get that chance to spike to get all your aggressions out, though.

“I also had to get used to not hearing everybody yelling for me. Every time there is a spike, the crowd always yells for the person that spiked it. But they don’t realize that there was a set that made it possible. Sometimes I do hear someone say, ‘Nice set,’ but when I look up in the crowd, I see it was my mother.”

Dafforn, who has had all season to get used to the new position, also has had time to reflect about it.

“It was hard at times, because I still like to hit,” she said. “I really like hitting, but this was the best for the team. But then there were some times when I wasn’t too sure about it.”

But Dafforn, who was an All-Empire League hitter at Los Alamitos in 1984 and 1985, wasn’t alone in her doubts.

“For the first month, I would watch her hit in practice and a little in the games and wonder what I was thinking when I suggested that she move to setter,” Gasparian said. “There was even a time when I was going to move her back outside. We would be fine with our freshman setter Dalene Lawson playing all the time. But now I know moving Barrie was the right thing to do, and it’s worked out so far.”

Dionne Powers, the only returning player besides Dafforn from last season’s 12-4 team, also was skeptical at first.

“I was a little worried that first day of practice when Albert said Barrie was moving to setter,” said Powers, who was an All-South Coast Conference middle blocker last season. “But she has done a great job. She runs the offense like she has been setting for years. She has made the transition, and it really helped the team. Everyone wants their sets a little different, and she is able to do it.”

There was another advantage to moving Dafforn to setter. She is almost 5-feet 10-inches tall, which gives Golden West more blocking height in the middle of its defense.

“I like blocking, too,” Dafforn said. “I was glad I still could do that with the switch. But when it comes to hitting or setting, I don’t know which I like better. It was my dream to make all-state at two positions when the season started.

“But now I guess I like setting best. I know I sure have a lot more respect for my setters than I ever did.”