The Women’s Volleyball team made their first-ever appearance in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa this week. The team played Harford College on Wednesday and Mesa Community College on Thursday. Unfortunately, they lost both matches. Here are some of the highlights:
Wednesday match against Harford College
In the first set, freshman Savannah Wright started off with a perfect block that put the Stormers in a 6-6 tie. Sophomore Paige Siehr had a key block, which put the Stormers ahead 13-12, but the team struggled keeping up and fell behind Harford with an 18-25 loss. In the second set, Sophomores Sam Seihr and Paige Seihr both got a block to get the score to 14-16, but the Stormers just couldn’t keep up and lost the set. In the third set, sophomore Hannah Council’s serve put the game in an 11-11 tie. Paige Seihr, with a kill, put the Stormers on top with a one point lead. But the team could not pull out the win and lost 23-25 to Harford. The Stormers moved to a consolation game.
Thursday match against Mesa Community College:
In the first set of the consolation game, the team suffered a lopsided loss 8-25. In the second set, Sophomore Avery Brieske’s four ace’s got the score to a 9-4 lead. At the end of the second set, the team struggled defensively and lost to Mesa Community College 20-25. In the third set, the team did not quit; they continued to give it their all. Rachel Krueger had a kill that tied the game 1-1. Sam Seihr’s kill got the score to 8-13. Paige Seihr’s ace put the Stormers in the lead 19-18. However, the Stormers couldn’t keep up in the third set and lost 18-25 to Mesa Community College.
Coach DeLisle’s Final Thoughts
Coach Michel (Shel) DeLisle says the team gave their all on the court and brought their energy, but they made some mistakes.“We haven’t seen mistakes like that all season,” she said. She said the team played too cautiously and had a lot of errors. “I was disappointed with the fact that we weren’t able to take advantage of an opportunity that we were given,” said Coach DeLisle. The coach acknowledges that this year’s volleyball team is a great team and that they had an outstanding season. However, she recognizes that the team will not be the same as four sophomores: Sam Siehr, Hannah Council, Paige Siehr and Avery Brieske will not be returning to the team next year.
