Women’s volleyball played their home opener on Wednesday, September 6. The Pioneers started their season playing in the Rio Grande Tournament on September 1 and September 2. This tournament was not quite the start they were looking for, going 0-2 on the first day of play. 

The first game was a close 3-2 match loss vs Bluefield Virginia and the second game was a 3-1 match loss in favor of Shawnee State. The second day of play was better for the Pioneers, as they won their first matchup of the day beating Union 3-2, before losing to Milligan 3-0. This tournament was not the best showing to start the year, putting the Pioneers at a 1-3 record. 

After a couple days of hard work at practice, the Pioneers then had their home opener vs Salem University. Last year, the team swept their matchup vs Salem. They started out this game strong with a 21-16 round win over the Tigers. The next round, the Pioneers started out hot with a 6-0 lead, which eventually led to a 21-15 round win. This put the Pioneers one round away from a win in their season opener. 

The third round was like the first two, Salem made too many errors, and Point Park made them pay, as they won the round 21-14, and swept the Tigers in this matchup. New addition to the Pioneer’s roster Eden McElhaney was incredible in this matchup. She ended the game with 11 K’s, and 11 digs. 

Stats do not tell the full story of this game though, all of Point Park’s roster performed well, with fantastic sets, incredible hustle, and made all the right plays to secure this victory and go to a 2-3 record with great momentum. The Pioneers’ next matchup will be a home game against Carnegie Mellon, on Tuesday September 12, where they look to continue strong.