It would be easy to be discouraged after an 0-4 weekend, however Shiloh Simonson instead viewed the weekend as an important learning experience.
The Point Park volleyball team made a trip to Palo Heights, Chicago and won two of 14 total games on the weekend while dropping its record to 2-6 on the season.
“In order to win, we need to put in more effort on and off the court,” Simonson said. “We learned that consistency is key and that we must never allow ourselves to be outworked by the other team.”
Perhaps the highlight on the Pioneers’ weekend was against host Trinity Christian College. After dropping the first game 27-25, it won the second 25-21. Point Park ensured that few, if any, attempts from Trinity Christian were successful. The team played with a spirit that was consistent throughout the game.
“That game is how we should have been playing the last two weekends,” Simonson said. “We play like that all the time in practice, our biggest challenge is bringing the same mindset and play to our matches.”
The weekend started with sightseeing which included the Cloud Gate at Millennium Park before taking on Lindsey Wilson for a second time.
Hoping to avenge a defeat earlier in the season, the Pioneers took the first game 25-20. From there though, 10th ranked Lindsey Wilson won the next three games to take the match.
Throughout the weekend, the starting lineup changed. According to Simonson, that, in combination with the many new faces on the team, resulted in a continued effort to find the chemistry needed to overcome the team’s streaky nature this season.
In three game losses to St. Francis and St. Ambrose, Point Park struggled to keep its hitting percentage above zero. This was the result of an increase in errors.
Much like Simonson, defensive specialist Olivia Fisher felt that the weekend did help the team.
“The outcome this weekend was not what we anticipated, but it wasn’t a complete loss,” Fisher said. “We did gain more team chemistry, knowledge of the game, and found out what personnel combinations work best in order for us to succeed in the future.”
The Pioneers will visit Kiski Area High School for Jam the Gym Wednesday and open Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) play against Carlow. They will open their home schedule Friday against IU Southeast, a KIAC opponent as part of the Battle of the Boulevard. Match ups Saturday will be against Lawrence Tech and another KIAC foe, Cincinnati Christian.
Simonson is optimistic of her team’s chances to rebound this week.
“I believe that if we train hard this week we can compete like I know we can,” Simonson said.
