The Observer, October 21, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8
UAA continues trend as volleyball powerhouse
It is easy to look at the volleyball team's 2-21 record and say that the team has had a disappointing season. People not familiar with the team's situation might make such a conclusion.
However, the season should not be deemed a total disappointment, especially when the level of competition is considered. The University Athletic Association continues to be a dominant conference in volleyball, with Washington, Emory, and New York Universities ranked first, third, and fourth in Division III, respectively. Playing teams of that caliber on a regular basis will bring down most team's records. This is what happened last weekend for the Spartans at the second UAA Round Robin at Washington University, losing to Washington on Saturday and NYU on Sunday.
Besides playing a challenging schedule, the Spartans have also had to overcome inexperience in addition to injuries and illnesses. Coach Nelson Wittenmyer believes that the team is coming along just fine, but it might take a little more time before the improvement manifests itself in the form of wins.
"I'm happy with the progress that our team has made, but we haven't reached our potential for the year yet," said Wittenmyer. "I expect us to continue to improve. My only wish is that the season could be longer. You can't speed up the clock of experience."
Even though the wins have not been coming, the improvement is evident. Even opposing coaches have commented that the team has improved a lot over the last few weeks, Wittenmyer said.
The coach said that the team still has not reached its full potential for the season, but there is time remaining for the Spartans to do so. The team has two more tourna-ments, tomorrow at the Allegheny College quad, and next Saturday at the Ohio Wesleyan quad, to realize that potential and prepare for the UAA championships. The UAA championships will take place Nov. 4-5 at Brandeis.
Wittenmyer believes that the opposition will see a different Spartan team during that first week of November. If the women do reach their full potential by that time, then the rest of the UAA will indeed see a much different team.
