Cabrini’s women’s volleyball co-captain Hannah Dalton, senior outside hitter, sits in Dixon Center’s Hall of Fame room, icing her right ankle and shoulder after a match against Catholic University’s Cardinals. Her teammates join her, relaxed and comfortable. It’s nothing like the pulsing, competitive energy zipping through players and spectators just 30 minutes prior.
While the girls relax, Eric Schaefer, head coach, and Sophia Sokolovitch, assistant coach, watch footage from the game. They take notes to share with players; who are contributing, and who are underperforming.
“We break down the practices by position, by what they need to learn, what they need to correct, [and] what they need to get better at,” Schaefer said. The practices after games focus on correction and strengthening skills for the next match.
Both Schaefer and Dalton agree that Cavalier women’s volleyball is a very strong serving team. “I think our strengths are definitely how close we all are together, and that transfers onto the court in terms of chemistry,” Dalton said.
The Cardinals won the first match, 25-15. The Cavaliers won the next two matches with scores of 25-21 and 29-27.
Despite their chemistry and communication on the court, the Cavaliers lost to the Cardinals. The score of the fifth match was 14-9.
“I think we left a lot of points on the table. I think we can do a much better job, but for some reason, we’re just not clicking right now,” Schaefer said. The team does not have a finalized lineup set. In practices and during games, they’re trying to find a setup that gives each player a chance for success.
Since it is still early in their season, every practice goes through combinations and rotations to find a good rhythm. Dalton said, there is room for suggestions from players during practices.
The Cavaliers are told to be proud of the work they put in on the court. Schaefer emphasizes his players should be playing with pride. With or without a win, the players continuously praise each other and are supportive when on the sidelines.
Dalton said, “I’m not sure what I would have changed, but I would have switched around the lineup once we were six or seven points behind.”
The Cavaliers lost their first game of the day. Their second one was against the Vassar College Brewers. They didn’t have to go through all five matches, beating the Brewers in the first three. The final score of the second game was 25-14.
