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The Pitt State Volleyball Club competed in the West Regional Arkansas Tournament, Saturday, Feb. 23.
Club President Lauren Esquibel believes the club played well.
“The competition is really good,” Esquibel said. “We played teams from Arkansas, Missouri State, Nebraska, Omaha, K-State, and KU and they are very good club teams, so it was really nice to see really volleyball being played. It was fun to get back out and actually see it (and) be a part of it. So, the first three games we did not win but we played really well especially for our first time being out as a club at all. Once we got down to our bracket play, that is when we won our two games.”
This was the first time the Volleyball Club has competed together as a club.
“I think (we did a good job of) coming together,” Esquibel said. “We have never played together and being a new team, you have to really rely and trust your teammates that they are going to do their job. So, it was really nice to (to see everyone) come together as a team and when we were frustrated at times, just picking ourselves up because that is all we had at that moment. We did not have anyone else telling us what to do, it was just up to us because we were the eight people on the court and we just wanted to represent Pitt State well.”
According to Esquibel, the club was a good opponent during their matches.
“I think we were definitely a competitor,” Esquibel said. “The other teams had to work hard to beat us. We were always point for point and then they would take off. One of our weakness was that we were not in volleyball shape and it is really hard to get in that way when you only have eight girls because in practice you cannot really scrimmage as much. So, we are definitely going to do a little more conditioning and some things to get us back in the swing of things. But we would always start really good and we just could not finish…”
The tournament uncovered things that Esquibel believes the team needs to work on before competing again.
“We definitely learned a lot about ourselves and our team going into this tournament,” Esquibel said. “We are going to be working on technical things that I saw just with blocking, hitting, and being more aggressive (and) even being a little more advanced in what we are doing because we know how to play, it is just getting to that next level to pull through with a win with the competition that we do have.”
Larissa Gaumer stood out to Esquibel during the tournament.
“Larissa Gaumer is our outside,” Esquibel said. “She plays all around actually. So, she is in the game constantly. She is great leader on the court and very well respected by her teammates. I definitely reply on her when it comes to getting in a huddle and trying to figure out things before we go back out.”
The Volleyball Club will participate in the Regional Championships on April 6 in Kansas City.
“Now that we have our name out there and people know that we are a club team, I hope to obviously get some wins under our belt but also establish ourselves and make ourselves known within our conference,” Esquibel said. “Going into the championship game, (I hope we come out) … more confident in ourselves and knowing that we can pull off a win.”
