After an unsuccessful weekend at the John Carroll University Invitational, the women’s volleyball team had to change their game plan. On Friday, September 13, the Yellowjackets battled against John Carroll University and Calvin College losing by a game score of 0-3 in both matches. Rochester had a tough beginning, but they put it together to earn a victory against the College of Notre Dame by a score of three games to two, on Saturday. To end the tournament, they suffered another 0-3 defeat at the hands of Westminister.
The Yellowjackets faced some very tough competition over the weekend, but this did not stop them from stinging their opponent. The weekend was used as a learning experience to finish stronger in the grudge matches that were soon to come. This was especially evident in Tuesday night’s game facing SUNY Fredonia. Head coach Dawn Kelly went into the match with confidence stating, “It should be a very competitive game, however it will be a team we can beat if we play well.” And that is exactly what they did. With a 5-5 record, the Yellowjackets knew this had to be the turning point in their team’s standing. After being down two games to none, the team pulled together and bounced back during an incredible five game stretch, knocking down Fredonia (3-2). Sophomore Liz Loveless contributed 47 assists, along with Kristin Voigt’s 18 kills. “It was a real turnaround game for us. Fredonia was a very tough team, but we didn’t give up and we worked our hardest to win,” Liz Loveless proudly expressed.
Women’s volleyball does not look to have any more tournaments like that at John Carroll, so the young team is using every game as a learning experience. It is evident that each time they step onto the court they grow in talent and desire to win.
Their blossoming talent and continual desire was illustrated during their game on Tuesday night. The next contest on the schedule for the Yellowjackets will be the UAA Round Robin, this weekend, at Emory University. At this tournament, Rochester will have the chance to compete against nationally ranked UAA rivals, including Washington University and Emory, as well as Chicago University. The Yellowjackets go into this weekend knowing they have their work cut out for them, but the way these young guns are racking up kills, anything may happen.
Murphy can be reached at tmurphy@campustimes.org.
