What a Weekend

This week started with a 3-0 win over WPI on Tuesday. It was also our Senior Night. It might have been our last home game this season, as well as the last time that Kim, Meaghan, Jenna, Itza, and I ever play a game in that gym. It was one to be remembered because of all the love our teammates gave to us, and because of the way we played. We didn’t think at all, we just played volleyball. For our team, that is when we play the best and that is what makes us unstoppable.

This weekend we had a tough lineup of three NESCAC teams at the Volleyball Hall of Fame Invitational. We played Bowdoin on Friday night, and it may have been one of the best matches we have played. Bowdoin was recently ranked ahead of us in the New England poll, and to beat them in three sets was a big statement. The fire our team had during that match was uncontrollable and we weren’t going to stop until we came out on top.

Unfortunately, the next day we learned what happens to us when we do think too much. We lost to Tufts in four sets. Our mental game took control of us and we didn’t execute the way we should have. However, we handled it the way we handled losing to Wellesley; we talked about it and moved on. We moved on by beating Middlebury in four sets in a very competitive match. This was huge for us because just the night before Middlebury had beaten Wellesley in four sets.

Overall, it was a very important weekend for us and, despite our loss, we played Springfield College Volleyball and made a big statement in the New England Region. This team loves a challenge and when we face one, we fight. I believe that now we have enough experience of adversity under our belt to stay grounded and continue to improve everyday to get better and achieve our goals. With a record of 27-2 there is little to be disappointed with, and we especially have a better understanding of what it feels like to lose and none of us ever want to feel that way again.

Before this weekend’s tournament I was watching the movie Secretariat, which is about the greatest race horse of all time. He was a horse that nobody expected to win because he was too young, too inexperienced, and too unbalanced. He had the speed but no one believed he had the stamina. He went on to win nearly every race he ran, and when he lost his second race there was a quote said by an actor that really stuck with me. “One loss is okay, but two is non-performance.”

I believe this to be true and it made a lot of sense after this weekend. This horse then went on to win the Triple Crown, set two race records that still stand today, and is considered one of the best EVER.

I kept on thinking about our team while watching this movie. People thought we were too young, too inexperienced, and too unbalanced. People thought we had the talent to win, but that it would never last. I’m not so sure that we’ll be the greatest volleyball team to ever have lived, but I’m pretty sure that for the remainder of this season we are going to prove to a lot of people that our passion for success will overcome any flaws we may have.

Ups and Downs

This past weekend was pretty incredible for our team. We hosted the Tom Hay Invitational, and went 4-0 to earn the tournament championship. Despite the success, the way that our team played was out of this world. Everyone's game has continued to improve and everything seemed to come easy. Our two setters, Molly Giannattasio and Whitney Miller, were unstoppable. They showed that despite being freshmen, they can lead this team and do it with confidence. We had our first five-set match of the season against Plymouth State, which was great for experience. Getting that out of the way was a big stress reliever. Overall, this weekend was great and improving to 21-0 helped us rise in national rankings to #18.

However, this Tuesday we hit our first speedbump. We lost to Wellesley in four sets in an exciting match. Unfortunatley, we really beat ourselves, and our errors were enough to give them 45% of their points. Wellesley has always been a tough competitor for us, especially since the rivalry dates back to before most of us were in high school. We have learned from the loss and we're over it. Now we're looking forward to playing in a tough tournament this weekend at Clarkson.

I think it's important for us to continue to look at the big picture and realize that being 21-1 and #18 in the country isn't too shabby. Losing is a necessary part of improvement and it gives us even more incentive to work harder. There is a deep passion within all of us for this team, this program, this school, and I have complete confidence that this won't hold us back.

As we travel to Postdam, N.Y. this weekend on a six hour bus ride, there is going to be a fire that will burn within us until we enter that gym at 7:00 pm on Friday night. I can promise you that when we get off that bus, we are going to bring an explosion of energy that will help us continue our great season.

I love this team.

Continuing to Improve

Having this past weekend off was exactly what our team needed. Our practice on Monday was so energetic and fast it was like we were a new team. It’s amazing what a little rest and relaxation can do, not to mention every person on our team was having withdrawals from volleyball. We couldn’t wait to play Smith on Tuesday and just get back in the swing of things, and that’s exactly what we did.

I had an interview with Jimmy Kelley from the Springfield Student newspaper this week (pretty awesome kid) and when he was asking me some questions about myself and the team, it made me think a lot about how far we’ve come.

He asked me how I thought the team had felt going into this season after we had gone so far in NCAA’s last season. It made me think about everything we have achieved as a team and everything we have overcome.

Going into this season I think that most of us were wiping the slate clean and ready to start a new journey with Coach Long. However, we had no lack of confidence or belief from what we could achieve. It has been our goal since day one to go farther than we had last year, achieve more than we had a season ago, and to make sure that this would be anything but a rebuilding year.

Most people in the volleyball world probably assumed we were going to collapse considering we lost three All-Americans and our head coach. Well to those people I would like to politely say, “NOT UP IN HERE.”

We bought into Coach Long even before preseason started and now, only a month later, it’s like we’ve known her for years. We have players on our team that stepped it up so much it’s easy to wonder why they were never playing before. You look at Mary Consol, who had to fill some seriously big shoes and start for the first time in her career at Springfield. Now all of a sudden, she’s leading the NEWMAC’s in blocks and is nationally ranked in blocks per game. It's players like her that makes Springfield a consistently good team and program.

We have a big tournament coming up this weekend here at Springfield and we are expecting all four games to be very competitive. I have complete faith that we will continue to get better every day and prove to everyone that we deserve to be 17-0 and #20 in the country.

I love this team.