The Daly Dig
Sep 22, 2003 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane volleyball team must be trying to take a few years off our coaches' lives. Or maybe we wanted to give the fans a few hours of nail-biting excitement. Whatever the reason, our team seemed to thrive on close games at this weekend's Kathy Trosclair Memorial Tournament. Neither our 3-0 record for the weekend nor the fact that we won nine straight games in a row demonstrates how close any of the games actually were. A closer look at the scores shows that four out of those nine games went extra long, with scores of 31, 32, 35, and even 37. Our team's competitive nature and overall experience helped us to come out on top every time.
One of my favorite things about our team is our competitive nature. It begins in practice where basic scrimmage drills may turn into intense battles between two sides, complete with yelling and a little trash talking here and there. This instinct comes out, especially in the close games against rival schools. And when something makes one of our players mad, look out. If the refs make a bad call against Deva, the other team better look out because you know that the next ball from her will be a resounding 10-foot-line kill. It's the same result if Ana gets blocked by a team like LSU. She will probably try and knock someone out with her next swing. This competitive spirit and killer instinct is just another aspect of our team that continues to improve.
Another big factor in our favor is the number of experienced players that we have on the court. We have the advantage a large amount of court experience with many of the upperclassmen receiving playing time since their freshmen seasons. This experience gives us trust and confidence in our teammates, and personally, I can see the effects even with my own skills. Having played together for three years now, I know when a serve comes over that Lindsey will be right next to me passing a perfect ball to the setter. This is the same feeling as when I dig a ball and know that Katie or Kelli will make a good set and someone will do everything they can to get a kill. Our team will reap the benefits of our years spent playing together and learning each other's tendencies.
Even if these games get our adrenaline pumping, our team could still improve by keeping our early game leads and beating teams quickly. But with each come-from-behind win and every five-game victory, our team builds confidence that will carry over into conference play.
Thank you for all of your support last week at the Trosclair Tournament, and I hope you all make it back to Fogelman on Oct. 3 when we open Conference USA play against TCU.
Roll Wave, Karlyn
