The Observer, September 14, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 3
Lady Spartans prepare for home volleyball tournament
Coming off of their season's opening tournament in which they showed much promise, the Lady Spartans volleyball team continued to improve by going 2-2 at the Baldwin-Wallace tournament last weekend. The Lady Spartans opened the tournament with a 3-1, hard-earned victory against Daemen College. Despite falling behind in the first set, they were able to recover to win 31-29 en route to winning the match.
"That was really important," said sophomore SK Piper who led the team with 19 kills in the match. "We showed a lot of intensity and didn't give up. We were able to pick the pieces up and put a 'W' on the board." In recognition of her play throughout the tournament, Piper represented Case on the All-Tournament team.
In the follow-up match against St. Vincent, the Lady Spartans faltered, losing 3-0. However, they were able to stay competitive and keep the scores close in two of the three sets. The opening match on Saturday against La Roche gave the Lady Spartans a chance to regroup, which they did by beating La Roche in straight sets.
"We were able to get people on the court and the level of play didn't drop off," said head coach Karen Farrell. "It was a great team effort, we were very consistent and beat them soundly." All 16 players on the Case roster were able to see action in the La Roche game, an important accomplishment for a team that is looking to build unity.
Unfortunately the Lady Spartans ran into a juggernaut, Heidelberg-a team that coach Farrell considers to be "one of the toughest teams in the region." Despite the disappointing result-a 3-0 defeat it did provide the team with a taste of what is to come once they enter UAA play.
"Playing Heidelberg gave us good experience because they're more at a UAA level," said Piper. "That is the level of play we need to beat [UAA rivals] Washington University and Emory."
"Overall it's a step forward since last weekend," said Farrell. "We had some good, competitive practices, and we were able to come out and play at a high level."
This weekend Case will play a quartet of home matches, including a match against local rival John Carroll at 7:30 p.m. tonight. "It'll be fun to play at home," said Piper. "It's a different ball game playing in front of your own fans and having your letters on the gym floor."
"Hopefully we can continue the improvement we've seen over the first two tournaments," Farrell said. "It'd be huge to get support at home and build momentum before heading into the heart of the season."
