After traveling to Nacogdoches for the second tournament of the season, volleyball went 0-3 at the SFA Volleyball Invitational in matches against Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana.
However, even though the team lost all three games, the Wildcats fought back from a deficit in all three matches, two of which went to five sets, and the third game went to four sets.
The only time the Wildcats were swept in any match this season was when they hosted the University of Oklahoma, the largest school they faced this season.
Head Coach Ijoema Moronu Alstrup said her team’s ability to fight back in games is very encouraging, especially when the matches are being played against larger opponents.
“It shows a lot of perseverance and a lot of grit that I think maybe we’re missing in the years past,” she said. “I think it’s a really good sign that we can compete with teams that in the years past we might have lost in three.”
Another highlight, despite the early losses, is that several players have had personal bests in recent games, including Rachel Koss, junior setter from Appleton, Wisconsin, who had 57 assists in the five-set loss to Sam Houston on Sept. 5.
“It’s just really exciting, especially to see girls that have been here for a couple years and have kind of worked their way into that starting lineup,” Moronu Alstrup said. “To see that kind of success is just really exciting for all of us. I think it’s helpful when the win-loss column doesn’t quite look like what we want it to.”
Koss said the new squad has played a huge factor in her success, especially with the high efficiency from several hitters. Aubrey Beaver, junior outside hitter from Murrieta, California, has been Koss’ main weapon with 99 kills on the season so far, 28 of which came in the Sam Houston game as a career high.
“It’s so promising and seeing how specifically our offense stats have never been better,” Koss said. “We feel like we’re playing good volleyball, the numbers are showing like this is a good year for us, and like we’re having a really good start, so the numbers don’t lie.”
The team will play in two more tournaments before conference play starts, which begins on Sept. 25. Moronu Alstrup said it is important for the team to gain some momentum in the coming weeks before entering the Western Athletic Conference portion of the season.
“It’s really important to us to kind of learn how to win, and go into the conference season feeling really confident about what we’ve done in the preseason,” she said. “I think we can feel really good about what we’ve done so far. So now these last two weeks are just important to keep building on that going into conference.”
The tournament style of play this weekend includes games against Alabama A&M, Grambling State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which are relatively smaller universities than the opponents faced so far this season.
Koss said these opponents will potentially help the team focus more on itself and its own style of play, although the matches should not be overlooked as easier.
“I think that this is a really good time that we’re playing these schools after our weekend,” she said. “Because if we play the same level of volleyball and we work on the things that maybe didn’t go our way and we capitalize on those things, this should be a very fun weekend.”
