Women’s volleyball team sets hopes high for the season

As the LC women’s volleyball team continues to push deeper into their season, their losses give them a greater perspective on what it means to be an athlete. Their hopes to finish the season are more alive than ever.

The only game that the Pios have won so far this season was against the George Fox Bruins.They won 3-1 at the Northwest Conference on September 9th. Annika San Nicolas ’19 aided the Pios in winning their first set 25-21 with two service aces after the games point-for-point start. Meyer finished the set with a notable 0.429 hitting percentage.

The Pios finished the first match with nine service errors and 27 attack errors. Kortney Meyer ’19 finished with a team-high of 14 kills while Casey Myszkowski ’19 finished with a team-high hitting percentage of 0.308. Myszkowski, Meyer and Emma Contreras ’19 achieved a total of 31 kills combined. In addition, Contreras finished the match with a team-high and season-high of 19 digs. Combined, Annika San Nicolas ’19, Meyer and Mikayla Lopez ’19 achieved 48 digs. Lopez also obtained a team-high of 30 assists. San Nicolas, Meyer and Contreras worked to achieve six service aces total.

The volleyball team finished the match with a 0.109 hitting percentage and 42 kills. They also recorded a total of nine blocks while the Bruins finished with seven.

“We are a different team than we were last year no doubt about that,” Myszkowski said. “We may have a smaller roster but each individual has become a more versatile volleyball player and I think that is a huge attribute to us.” This is true considering the team only recruited one freshman, Kayla Valdez ’21, for the 2017-18 school year.

LC’s women’s volleyball team has not been able to win any other games. However, new coaches like Emily Hayes are giving the team hope for a successful future. Myszkowski explained that Hayes is part of an “excellent coaching staff.” Hayes has been a positive influence for the team in the rough start to the season. What is most important to Myskowski is that the team can leave a game with a positive attitude for future games.

“As a team we are working on playing our game and not beating ourselves while trying to beat our opponent as well,” Myskowski said.

When asked if there was anything her team was working particularly, Contreras explained, “right now our team is really working to find our groove. We’re struggling with consistency and with finishing matches.”

“We come out really strong, but as the match goes on we lose discipline and consistency in our skills,” Contreras said. “With such a small team we need to really focus on maintaining energy and discipline throughout a match.”

Contreras added that a main component the team is working to cultivate is a “smarter not harder” tactic.

“This is an incredibly important concept for us to commit to,” Contreras said. “We’ve been working all week to consistently apply this into our game.”

Their next game will be played on Oct. 7 against the Puget Sound Grizzlies.