|
The Metro State volleyball team’s season ended Friday, Nov.
21, after they were defeated 3-2 by the Rockhurst University Hawks
in the second round of the NCAA Division II Regional Championship.
This is the fourth year in a row the team has been eliminated at
the beginning of the NCAA Championship.
Head Coach Debbie Hendricks said it is frustrating for her and the
team to keep “getting knocked out (of the NCAA) at this level.”
She said it is disappointing that the players didn’t make it
further along in the championship.
Her final comment on the season as a whole was the pride she has
for the players who make up the team.
“They are a classy, courageous group of girls,” Hendricks
said.
“Tonight is no reflection at all of the girls’ performance
overall.”
Senior setter Angela Golesh said Rockhurst’s main advantage
was the size of the team: bigger players equal a better offense. The
Hawks’ hitters and blockers were much taller, Golesh said, and
it was difficult for the Roadrunners to balance out their team’s
defense with the others’ offense. She said she regrets allowing
Rockhurst to score so many points in a row.
“They played with a much better defense than what we expected,”
said Golesh. “We knew it would be a battle and a tough match;
we gave them a lot of runs.”
Jessy Roy, a senior and outside hitter, said, “As a whole,
I feel really good about the season.”
She was also sad to see the team eliminated in the same place for
the fourth year. “I wanted to get further.”
Golesh best describes the players as “fighters.” The
season has been both challenging and exciting for her and the team.
The team’s success in the Premier Challenge and the RMAC, and
their ability to work through many difficulties, are what Golesh said
she reflects upon most.
“The whole season we were always the underdogs,” Golesh
said.
“I think we had a season that had a lot of obstacles and challenges,
and we rose to the occasion for all of them. The Premier was an awesome
tournament.”
Roy said it was nice only losing one RMAC match and, most of all,
she was proud of the players’ relationships with each other—
how each individual held the team together.
“I thought that our team was more mature, and the chemistry
(between the players) was really there,” said Roy.
The Hawks took the initial lead, scoring the first point of the first
game. The score was 6-12 before Metro called their first timeout.
Although the Roadrunners struggled to keep up for most of the game,
they put up a fight toward the end.
Thorough kills were executed by the team, most notably by Shawna
Gilbert.
The players came back miraculously, but it wasn’t enough: Rockhurst
won the first game 27-30.
The Roadrunners took the lead in game two, scoring the first point
and keeping the advantage over the Hawks for most of the match.
This time, the Hawks managed to climb back, tying it up 25-25. The
score went back and forth for the remainder of this game, and the
Hawks won this one as well, 28-30.
Things became more serious in match three as Metro kept the score
tight. The scores were either tied or kept within the one-point range
for most of the game.
The Roadrunners were intent on winning this one, and indeed they
did. The final score was 30-25.
Game four can be characterized by intense game play by both teams.
Shawna Gilbert scored the first point, and the score was kept close
until the Hawks took the lead, 15-18.
Metro came back and won that game, 30-25. Metro dominated the first
half of game five, but the Hawks picked up the pace and won 10-15.
The Roadrunners ended their season at 27-6.
|
