The Point Park women’s volleyball team opened up their 2015 season with a 0-8 record and sit at the bottom of the standings in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC).
“I think the most frustrating thing about the start of our season is that we have all the talent we need to do great things,” outside hitter Shiloh Simonson said. “We just haven’t figured out how to put our talents together yet. We have moments of greatness…we just need to figure out how to have those moments all the time. Then, we will be unstoppable.”
The Pioneers’ season began with the Grace College Classic tournament Aug. 21-22 and the Lindsey Wilson Tournament Aug. 27-28, where they came up short in every matchup.
Despite a good effort from the Pioneers by holding leads in the first two sets of their matches against Trinity Christian and St. Ambrose on Aug. 21, they lost 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.
The second day of the tournament held another loss for Point Park with a 3-0 defeat to both Indiana University Kokomo and Grace College respectively.
The team held its own during the first two sets against IU Kokomo with 14 kills in the first and 12 in the second but only gained four in the third, which led to IU Kokomo’s victory.
Against Grace, Point Park only gained three kills as a team in the first match, but gained more confidence by obtaining 10 kills in the second and third sets. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Grace had 12 kills in the last two sets, allowing them to take the win.
The Pioneers were comprised of 16 players in 2014, which is three more players than this season’s roster. The loss of key players and adding four new players strained the team’s chemistry.
Senior Isabella Vavrek, the Pioneers’ outside hitter, said the rough start has to do with how unfamiliar the players are to each other.
“We just need some time and more experience playing with each other to get comfortable,” Vavrek said. “I know that this team will bounce back from this slow start.”
On the first day of the Lindsey Wilson tournament, the Pioneers had two tough losses against Indiana Tech and the seventh team in the nation, Lindsey Wilson with a score of 3-1 and 3-0, respectively.
The Pioneers remained close throughout both matches, with opposite Megan Branchick leading with 10 kills and three blocks against Indiana Tech and Simonson added seven kills and 12 digs.
“We would not get any better if we played easy teams,” Branchick said. “Last Friday, we played the seventh team in the nation and played our best volleyball yet, even though we didn’t get the results we wanted.”
Losing the first eight matches of the season hasn’t negatively affected the players’ confidence.
Junior transfer Branchick, right side and middle hitter, stated the team has been working hard in the gym.
“Obviously, no one likes losing,” Branchick said. “That being said, I think the most frustrating part is we all know we could be winning these games. We just [have] to get our groove back.”
The Pioneer volleyball team’s first home match of the season is the Battle of the Blvd Sept. 4-5.
“We’re using this week to really prepare ourselves for the season ahead of us, Branchick said. “We are all feeling very confident that we will get our first win at our home tournament this weekend.”
