Sports
Volleyball returns from tournament with wins, experience
The Pointer
Ggott172@uwsp.edu
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point volleyball team competed in the Molten Volleyball Pikes Peak Challenge in Colorado Springs, Colorado this past weekend. Along with a couple of victories, they came back with valuable experience on and off the court.
Head coach Stacey White was excited with the play she saw in Colorado.
“I thought everyone played well throughout the tournament. It was good to see everyone come together and improve.”
The Pointers began the tournament last Friday against Oneonta State with a game one victory, but dropped the second game.
“The first day we played I think we started well,” White said. “But then we had a little dip of intensity in game two and that caught up with us.”
The Pointers recovered nicely, winning the next two games and the match, which left White proud of the team’s resiliency after the game two loss.
In the second match on Friday the Pointers completed a clean 3-0 sweep against Kenyon College, with the entire team contributing in the victory.
“The second match all 16 players on our roster got to get in, which is good experience for everyone on the team,” White said.
Day Two of the tournament brought the biggest test for the Pointers when they faced Colorado College, ranked seventeenth nationally heading into the tournament. Although UWSP lost the match 3-1, White came away with a lot of positives about her team.
“I thought we played well, the team was really fired up for this game and I was really proud of the way we fought against Colorado College, it’s exciting to see it there; we just need to get more consistent.”
Following the hard-fought loss to Colorado College, UWSP dropped the second match of the day to Whitworth College 3-0, and finished the tournament with a 2-2 record. Adding to the strong tournament showing from the Pointers was senior Pam Nora, who was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Outside of the tournament, the team visited a few tourist attractions in the Colorado Springs area, including the Air Force Academy Airfield and the Garden of Gods, which is, as White described it, “a beautiful area of towering sandstone rock formations.”
White believes the experiences of the tournament, as well as the trip itself, will have a positive impact on the team as they continue through their season.
“Anytime you have a trip like that where you play and have a little time to sightsee together, it helps team bonding.”
The Pointers play again this Friday, Sept. 11, at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their next home game is September 30 against UW-Oshkosh.
