The volleyball team played a game against Central Missouri on Friday, Oct. 25 but dropped the game (1-3). They continued their weekend with another game on Saturday, Oct. 25 against Northwest Missouri but again lost the game (0-3). The team managed to bounce back on Tuesday, Oct. 29 and won against Newman (3-0).
Head coach Jen Gomez was understandably unhappy with the weekend games but thought that the team rebounded well.
“… (On Friday against Central Missouri), we took the first set and then I just don’t think that we adjusted very well to the changes that they made and so it seemed like we kind of got stuck in a rut,” Gomez said. “And then Saturday, it was really hard for us to get any kind of momentum going at all. I don’t feel like we really stood out in any area of our game and we just kind of were, for lack of a better word, just blah. But tonight (Tuesday), what I was really excited about is that we just stepped up and were aggressively and really kind of shined in all areas of the game, especially defense, from our blocking and our defense. I thought that was really strong. It was just nice after two losses against really tough opponents… It was really nice to see our kids bounce back and get the win at home.”
The team did do some things well despite the two losses.
“Well, I thought that passing at times was pretty decent and I thought that… tonight (Tuesday) our defense was what I saw the most improvement in, it was our defense, blocking, and then I thought also that our serving was really good,” Gomez said. “So, tonight (Tuesday) I think all factors of our game were pretty good. It was a definite improvement from the weekend, let’s put it that way”
Gomez was proud of the team for rebounding well against Newman.
“… We talked Friday and Saturday (about how) we had to get our block better and we did that tonight,” Gomez said. “We had to be a little but more aggressive it our game, but I thought that was one thing we did well tonight… I think that we have to continue to rely on our defense, to hold things down, and be steady. I think that we just can’t make a lot of unforced errors. So, we have to be pretty aggressive yet smart when we play our game.”
According to Gomez, the game against Newman was “a really good game to see a lot of different players shine.”
“I always think that Morgan Henning has been just kind of a steady Eddie,” Gomez said. “I think that Emily Regier does some really good things and she really kind of played well. Then tonight (Tuesday), Hope White, number 20, she really stepped up defensively and did some things that were really good. I thought that Meg Auten played well tonight. I thought defensively Marissa Bates, of course, played well…”
The volleyball team’s next game is a home game against Missouri Western on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. in the John Lance Arena.
“I would like to see us play aggressive volleyball,” Gomez said. “I would like to see us kind of stay in control of the match and not let Missouri Western control the momentum and I would like to see us serve tough and play solid defense. And then of course I want to see a win.”