The Lady Cavalier volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of their local rivals, Eastern University. This defeat marked the end of their Pennsylvania Athletic Conference winning-streak; the team is now 4-1 within the conference.
Early on Saturday, Oct. 8, the volleyball team loaded Cabrini’s van and prepared to travel across the road to the Eastern University campus. Sophomore Marybeth Tray said, ” We were all so anxious to face Eastern and it only increased once we arrived onto their campus.”
The team had practiced diligently for close to two weeks in preparation for their match against Eastern, the number one team within the PAC. Despite their hard-work, Cabrini faced a set-back in their line-up when an important part of their team, mid-hitter Marybeth Tray was injured.
Because it was not know when she would be able to return, the usual line-up was switched around. Not only were they preparing for a possible victory against their huge rival, but for some of the young ladies, they were doing so in new positions.
After taking a couple weeks to familiarize themselves to all of the changes, their injured mid-hitter was declared fit enough to play.
Once again, alterations were made to fit her back into the line-up. “These practices were an important part in our preparation to go up against Eastern. Unfortunately, switching our line-up back and forth did not allow us to prepare as much as we could have had no injuries occurred,” mid-hitter Samantha Hartling said.
Slightly affected by minor obstacles, the Lady Cavs entered their opposition’s gymnasium. Because it was Eastern’s homecoming, they soon found themselves warming-up in front of a multitude of Eastern supporters.
At the beginning of the first set, anxiety continued to be visible on the faces of Cabrini’s starters. After many practices and having to overcome challenges as a team, the moment had actually arrived. There was no turning back.
From the very first set, it was obvious to everyone in the stands that this was going to be a difficult match for Cabrini to win.
The ball was hit back and forth across the net at a rapid pace. Not only did Eastern have home-court advantage, but they also had control of this game. It was quite clear to everyone watching that Eastern set the momentum for the match. Cabrini was simply attempting to keep the same speed.
Though they were not running the match, Cabrini managed to keep-up. They were really working together as a team. It appeared that all of their practicing had paid off, but sadly, that was not the case. They lost the first set 30-21.
Although they had lost the first set, the team looked at the score as somewhat of an accomplishment. In fact, in a way it was; this was the first time in years that they had come so close to winning a set against Eastern. They usually never pass 18, setting the mood for the rest of the game.
Excited by the previous score, Cabrini came into the second set hopeful. It did not take long for their high hopes to be crumbled, as they quickly fell behind. This was by far the worst portion of the game for Cabrini.
After their poor performance in the second set, the team was pulled off of the court by their coach. He pulled them aside where, according to several team members, he motivated his team to go out and win the third set. “We were told to forget the last two sets and go out there refreshed. All we had to do was win this last set and we would still be in the game,” Tray said.
The coach’s words seemed to have really inspired the team. When they re-entered the court, they did so with a new sense of confidence and determination. It was obvious in their every movement that they wanted to win this set. No matter how much they had been inspired or motivated by their coach, they were still no match for Eastern’s powerhouse team. They loss the third set. Eastern’s skillful team had won.
Posted to the web by Brian Coary
