“Fall down seven, get up eight…” as said by NBA superstar Dwayne Wade. And that’s the attitude of the UR women’s volleyball team as they attempted to make up for a less than spectacular showing at the New York State Championships with a strong showing in the UAA Tournament. Traveling to the land of the Terrible Towel (Pittsburgh), the Yellowjackets made the trip and finished 1-2 in pool play, which was enough to move on as they move on to the single elimination round, but fell to Chicago to finish in 7th place in the UAA tournament.
The Chicago Bears had a tough day against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday, but unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for the Bears of Washington University in St. Louis. The Yellowjackets had a tough first day in the UAAs by not only playing three games in the first day, but also not playing up to their potential. The Yellowjackets fell 30-15, 30-17, 30-17 with the nationally ranked Bears hitting .412 in the process.
Senior outside hitter Susan Johnson led the Yellowjackets with eight kills, seven digs and two blocks and senior setter Samantha Carr did her part with 22 assists and five digs. Junior outside hitter Haleigh Spencer led the eventual tournament-winning Bears with 13 kills, while senior middle hitter Whitney Smith added 12 kills and four blocks.
Hoping for a bounce back, the Yellowjackets fell immediately after to the host team; the Carnegie Mellon Tartans; 30-20, 30-25, 30-18. Once again, it was Johnson and Carr who led the team.
Johnson had 13 kills and nine digs, while Carr tagged on 27 assists and 14 digs.
But with their backs to the wall, the tried and true prevailed. The Yellowjackets came back to beat the Spartans of Case Western Reserve with a grueling 3-0 win, 31-29, 36-34 and 30-24. Johnson had 25 kills, 15 digs, and five blocks while Carr added 43 assists, 15 digs and one block. Senior Andrea Wagonseller contributed to the swarm and had 8 kills and 14 digs, and junior Ariel Edelson chipped in five kills, nine digs, and three blocks. The Yellowjackets finished 1-2, third in their pool.
Hoping that the Maroons would feel just that after seeing their Bears (the football team) lay an egg against the worst team in the NFL, the Yellowjackets undoubtedly went into pool play with a lot of confidence. Johnson led the team with 21 kills, 19 digs and four blocks with Carr adding three kills, 34 assists and 17 digs. Wagonseller chipped in five kills, 11 digs and two aces and freshman Dana Hilfinger had four kills, four blocks and an ace. But the Maroons prevailed, 30-22, 30-26, 21-30, 30-23.
This weekend the Yellowjackets play host to the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships. UR takes the court at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and will face the winner of Friday’s match between SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Potsdam. The championship game is Saturday at 5 p.m.
Wang is a member of the class of 2009
