On Saturday, Sept. 18, the Point Park Pioneers Women’s Volleyball team aimed to continue their win streak against the WVU Tech Golden Bears on the road. A win would mark their third straight conference victory.

The Pioneers won their first two games of the season. Although they started strong, they would lose three consecutive games in the Emileigh Cooper Memorial Tournament. The team had six newcomers on their roster and, with only two weeks of the preseason, this made it difficult to achieve substantial team chemistry. This was a factor in their early struggles. Nevertheless, the team adjusted quickly and would win three straight games entering conference play.

In their first conference game, the Pioneers took on the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots. During the game, Point Park held the opposition to a negative hitting percentage and also had 21 more kills. Point Park swept the Fighting Scots in three straight sets, extending their win streak to 4 games. Fifth-year senior and middle hitter, Jazlyn Rozier, played a crucial role in their first conference win, tallying 10 kills and 2 block assists. According to Rozier, communication and taking accountability were the tools it took to win.

“I would say communication is a big one for us,” Rozier said. “I think we have seven to eight new girls that came in. I could be wrong, it might just be six or seven, but we only had two weeks of preseason to kind of mesh together and build that chemistry within our team,”
Rozier said good things of the team’s progress with communication.
“I think we’ve done a really good job at doing that and welcoming the new girls,” Rozier said. “I think that they feel comfortable enough too because we do have a couple of new girls that actually start for us, so I would say communication has given us those waves and energy.”

Their straight-set sweep against the Fighting Scots marked their first conference win and their fourth straight 3-0 victory.

After defeating Ohio Valley at home, the team had a weekend road trip. On Sept. 17, they had their second conference game on the road against the Rio Grande Red Storm. Point Park entered the road trip with a 1-0 conference record and four straight victories.
The game was much closer than their previous four games, but the Pioneers defeated the Red Storm for their second straight conference win in a decisive comeback victory, 3-2. The team was led by senior Madison Sima, who tallied 17 kills, 2 digs and 2 block assists. Jazlyn Rozier also played an important role, notching her second straight game with over 10 kills and scoring a .381 killing percentage.

“I think taking accountability and just wanting to win like I want this ball every single time that it comes over that net, I want to get a kill every single time,” Rozier said about her recent success.

Although Jazlyn Rozier’s anticipation, competitive spirit and experience have helped her this season, Rozier will always acknowledge that volleyball is a team effort. Rozier has had a strong start to the season, but the team as a whole is gaining chemistry. Rozier acknowledges that her teammates are an important part of her success.

“I think having that competitive attitude that I have and wanting to take accountability if I do have an error has led me to have 10 kills and my teammates being awesome,” Rozier said. “I mean, we’ve had great passing. So that is the only way that I can get a kill like that for our setters to set me up.”

The team’s chemistry continued as they played another road game on Saturday, Sept. 18 against the WVU Tech Golden Bears. The Pioneers dropped their first two sets, trailing 2-0. Nonetheless, the Pioneers had a valiant effort, winning three straight sets. Point Park completed the comeback and won the game, 3-2. Point Park’s victory against WVU Tech marked their sixth straight win, improving their record to 8-3.

The Pioneers are now 3-0 in conference play. In their third conference game, senior Ashley Castelli accomplished her 1,000th career dig.
This is a feat that only eight Point Park players have accomplished.

The Pioneers are riding a lengthy six-game win streak. The team has won their first three conference games, but the season is far from over. The Pioneers have more goals that they want to accomplish for the 2021-2022 season.

“We want to beat IU Kokomo. We want to beat IU Southeast. Those are always the biggest competitors for us, especially at a home gym,” said Rozier about the team’s goals. “We want to win the division and we want to make it to Nationals. We have a lot of goals this year as a team, but overall, just winning the conference, not losing at home, and to keep that winning streak going.”

The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Point Park looks to continue their win streak on the road against Ohio Christian University.