With the first win of the season under its belt, the Wildcat volleyball team will look to add to the season total this weekend at the UTSA Invitational in San Antonio.
The first win came against Campbell University, in the two schools’ first-ever meeting. While the team fell short against Baylor University and the University of Tulsa, Head Coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said she was pleased with the all-around effort from the Wildcats.
“I think that Izzy Larson did a really good job on the outside,” Moronu Alstrup said. “I also think that Hannah Gonzalez did a really good job getting a lot of good touches on the block, and it was definitely a team effort that was able to get the first win, which is always really nice.”
Bryley Steinhilber, senior outside hitter from Kennedale, led the offense with 15 kills, while Gonzalez, sophomore middle blocker from Lucas, and Larson, sophomore outside hitter from San Jose, California, followed with 10 and six, respectively.
Gonzalez also added on six blocks to the point total, leading the team. She said she was thankful for the continued communication from the others on the court throughout the game.
“My outside and right side blockers are super important because they line up the block, and all I have to do is seal to them and then they tell me when to jump up,” she said.
Gonzalez said she knows her play has a significant impact on the team, especially from the middle blocker position, leading to increased intentionality in practice and even with recovery.
“Your body gets really tired, so you have to do more recovery, like foam rolling, drinking water, and eating correctly,” she said. “You just have to be super aware of that while also playing really hard in practice.”
While the team had a good outing last weekend in Baylor, Moronu Alstrup said she is looking forward to this weekend.
“We’ll prepare for each match one at a time,” she said. “It’s going to be really big for us to keep our middles involved.”
Moronu said that while the Baylor Classic was impressive, the team needs to improve on how quickly they side out.
“When we’re receiving the ball, we need to be able to score quicker and not rely on the other team to make mistakes to score,” she said.
The Wildcats will play against the University of the Incarnate Word and the University of Texas at San Antonio on Friday, and then face the College of the Holy Cross at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
