There’s an adage about not fixing something if it isn’t broke. The Illinois volleyball team isn’t adhering to the old saying, though.

After making a Sweet 16 run in last season’s NCAA Tournament, the Illini have switched up their formation this season.

Last year Illinois enjoyed plenty of success using the 6-2 formation, but as the new season has gotten under way, the No. 14 Illini (3-1) now use a 5-1 formation.

“Obviously we had a good year last year (with the 6-2). It was a little bit about personnel,” head coach Kevin Hambly said. “We had Hillary Haen, who was a setter last year in the 6-2, and we felt like she could carry the load for us in the 5-1. Michelle Bartsch has developed into a nice back row player, which means that we didn’t want to take her out of the back row, we wanted to keep her back there so we could use her as an attacker.”

The biggest change in the new formation is using only a single setter, the responsibility of which goes to the junior Haen. The new formation also sees Bartsch, a sophomore, stay on the court and take her turn in the back line.

In a 6-2 formation, a team uses two setters, allowing the squad to always have three hitters up front. In a 5-1 formation, the lone setter sets up her teammates from wherever she is on the court.

Haen has been used as the sole setter so far this season, and it’s a role she’s thriving in.

“For the hitters, it’s really not that different other than the fact that they have to get used to the new setter every time they go in,” Haen said. “As soon as they get used to me in a game, we’re kind of connecting and it stays that way the whole time.”

Fellow junior Laura DeBruler believes the consistency of having just one setter has helped the team form a connection with Haen, allowing for better chemistry on the team.

“It’s really hard for two different people to have those consistencies, so for us it’s definitely really great for us,” DeBruler said. “(Haen’s) doing a great job at it, making it really consistent.”

The team has also become more offensive-minded in the 5-1, a far cry from the defensive-minded play from last season.

“We’re leading the conference in kills, and we’re leading the conference in assists and that’s not what we were doing last year,” Hambly said. “We wanted to try to get a little bit better offensively, and we’ve seen that happen already.”

Despite more focus and success on offense, the Illini recognize the importance of continuing with defense.

“We’ve talked about it a lot, and we’re not going to win games just being able to hit the ball,” Haen said. “We have to be able to play defense too.”

There is some concern that under the new formation the team could become too offensive-minded and lose some of that defense that made them such a great program last season. The goal is to find the blend between offensive and defense in the 5-1. Hambly wants the team to stick to their defensive roots.

“I think we still have to a defensive-minded team,” Hambly said. “I like the quote, ‘Offensive wins games and defense wins championships.'”