After Thursday’s five-set loss to Utah Valley University, the Wildcats find themselves on an eight-game losing streak.
Despite the loss, Madeline Guffy, senior setter from Krum, reached an impressive milestone: 2,000 career assists.
Guffy’s 2,000th assist came in the fourth set on a set to Bryley Steinhilber, senior outside hitter from Kennedale. Guffy and Steinhilber will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday in their final home match.
Ten of Guffy’s assists were to Annaleise Sevier, freshman outside hitter from Aubrey, who hit .450 in the match.
Sevier has recently become a key player for the Wildcats and has now started the last five matches. She said it is very reassuring that the coaches have continued to have confidence in her even in intense situations.
“I’m happy they have so much trust in me and that they trust that I’m able to go out there and do my job and put the ball down,” Sevier said.
After a poor hitting night against Utah Tech University, Sevier looked to make a strong return against UVU, and she did just that.
“I think with the off game, just taking away what I could have done better and emphasizing it that that is the strongest part of my game in the next game I play,” she said.
Head Coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said she is proud of how her team has improved since the beginning of the season, even with the long losing streak.
“I definitely feel like we’ve taken steps forward throughout the season, we’ve also taken a couple of steps back, but that’s to be expected with a young team,” she said. “I’m just really proud that overall the morale of the team is still good and we’re still fighting for something and playing for each other.”
Nieko Thomas, middle blocker from West Hills, California, and Hannah Gonzalez, middle blocker from Lucas, also had strong showings in Thursday’s match.
Thomas hit .600 with nine kills on 15 attempts and Gonzalez had 13 kills on 32 attempts. Both had four blocks in the match.
Alexis Strong, sophomore pin hitter from Louisville, Kentucky, led the match in kills with 15 on 44 attempts.
The Wildcats will look to end their losing streak on Saturday when they host Southern Utah University for Senior Day.
The team has fallen to seventh place in the Western Athletic Conference with only three games remaining before the conference tournament. The top eight teams will travel to Arlington to attempt to win the championship.
Moronu Alstrup said her team will need to strengthen their block in preparation for talented outside hitters from SUU.
“We just have to be able to play good defense against those players and then score some points on our own,” Alstrup said.
