In 2012, youth and inexperience was a detriment to the Illinois volleyball team as they finished a disappointing 14-16 on the year.

On the court, the Illini relied on young players such as sophomores Anna Dorn and Liz McMahon as well as freshmen Jocelynn Birks and Ali Stark. While the Illini are hoping to have ample experience on the court, they now must deal with new faces filling in on the coaching staff.

Longtime assistant coach Jen Oldenburg resigned in December after nine seasons with the program. The Illini stayed within the Big Ten to fill the vacancy and hired Jayme Gergen, an assistant from Ohio State in early January.

Gergen is primarily working with middle blockers — she was an All-American middle at Georgia Tech during her playing career — and will be a key cog in the recruiting process.

“I think always one of my strengths as a coach has been getting to know players and people around the program,” Gergen said. “That’s mainly what I’ve been doing so far this spring.”

While recruiting for the fall has been finished for some time,Gergen has been in the gym since being hired Jan. 17, and made an immediate impression with the middles.

“Jayme did a really good job establishing a connection with us,” sophomore middle blocker Kathryn Polkoff said. “It makes it easier to coach us and make improvements.”

Starting middle Anna Dorn has been sidelined from spring exhibitions because of a knee injury, so Polkoff and redshirt freshman Maddie Mayers have been competing for the second middle spot. With neither having played in a collegiate game, this spring has been essential to their development.

“It’s actually OK that Dorn has been out because both of them have gotten a ton of experience and playing time,” Gergen said. “They’re both working hard, and I think one of them will definitely be able to fill that role.”

Right after college, Gergen was hired as an assistant at Virginia Tech in 2005. She stayed in Blacksburg, Va., for five seasons before taking a job on the Ohio State coaching staff for three seasons.

Gergen is somewhat familiar with Illinois, as the Buckeyes beat the Illini twice last season, with both matches coming down to the final set. Illinois had its share of success against Gergen and Ohio State before last season, however, posting a 4-0 record and dropping just two sets in those matches.

“In terms of game planning against Illinois, I’m glad I don’t have to do it anymore,” Gergen said. “They’ve always been a tough team in the past, and will continue to be tough.”

Head coach Kevin Hambly, entering his fifth year as head coach in Champaign, is the most tenured coach on the staff at Illinois. Assistant coach Dan Conners is now in his second year at Illinois and former All-American Michelle Bartsch was on the staff last year while she finished her degree in sports management, rounding out an extremely young coaching staff.

While the Illini players have gotten a year older on the court, the coaching staff remains very new, which could be a concern for a team looking to get back into the NCAA tournament in 2013.

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.