With 13 games under their belt thus far, this season for the women’s volleyball team is well underway. The girls began the season strong with a 3-0 win against Duquesne at the Penn State Invitational. Although they lost against West Virginia and Penn State, they waltzed out of the invitational on a high note with a 3-1 win against Coppin State.
The month of September started off rocky with four losses at the Bobcat Invitational, but the team took a victory lap against Holy Cross with a win of 3-1. After two more losses against American and Navy, things were about to heat up as the girls were scheduled to play their first home match against the Bucknell Bisons.
The head coach for the Greyhounds is Alija Pittenger, who has held this position since 2015. In order to serve up more wins this season, Pittenger knows the perfect recipe.
“We need to work on not digging ourselves giant holes that we have to come back from,” Pittenger said. “So, just being a little more consistent, eliminating some of the errors that we give away, so hopefully with more experience, playing more often, we’ll be able to take care of that.”
On Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m., the bleachers were full of hyped-up students and proud Greyhound parents. The girls were ready for a fight and came out of the gate running with a victory in the first set of 25-19. It was the same story in the second set, which ended in another win of 25-18. Although the first and second sets were smooth sailing, the third and fourth sets were a bit of a nail-biter.
In the third set, the Greyhounds began with a solid head start, but the Bison galloped their way up to a 14-13 lead. The gym was filled with the sounds of screeching sneakers and loud cheers of anticipation as the Greyhounds fought fiercely but lost this set with a Bison victory of 25-19. Bucknell took this win and ran with it by starting the fourth set with a lead of 15-12, but there was no way Loyola was going to take a loss on their own turf. Soon, the Greyhounds crept up to 20-20, then Bucknell pushed forward to a 23-20 lead.
Finally, the Greyhounds bumped, set, and hit their way to a win of 26-24 and an overall win against Bucknell of 3-1. What a night this was as the Greyhounds prepared for a battle with Lafayette at Loyola the next day at 4:00 p.m.
With the speakers blaring and eager fans ready to see some action from the stands, the girls lined up to face the Lafayette Leopards. The Greyhounds were back at it again and took the first two sets 25-20. Despite some solid rallies from the first two sets, the third set brought fans to the edge of their seats. A timeout from the Leopards gave them what they needed to inch up on the Greyhounds, who went from a 17-14 lead to 18-19. At 21-24, the girls needed a miracle and received it as they jumped to a tie with the Leopards at 25-25 and then went on to win big at 27-25.
One major player from this game was Cecylia Guye ‘23, who had nine kills and is the middle blocker for the Greyhounds.
Guye said, “I’m feeling pretty good. We had a rough start, but we played some really good teams so far, so I think we have a lot we can improve upon but we’re also doing really good on the stuff we’re working on.”
With the excitement of winning both home matches this weekend, the hounds huddled around in celebration. After several bumps, sets, hits, and tumbles, the girls fought hard and utilized the strong power of teamwork to emerge triumphant. With some final cheers and applause from the audience, Iggy could finally have a victory dance. Another major player from this game was setter Ashley Dwyer ‘23. She had a total of 41 assists this game and 12 digs.
In response to the win, she said, “I’m feeling really great. Everyone worked hard, and we all worked really well together today.” She goes on to talk about her feelings and those of her teammates regarding the upcoming games. Dwyer is excited to see what is next in the team’s journey this season and what’s to come.
“We’re super stoked right now,” Dwyer said, “We’re on the up right now, so looking forward to the back half of the Patriot League.” Pittenger came out of this game as a proud coach and sees that her girls have come a long way from where they started.
“It’s been a kind of crazy season. We started off really strong, played some strong teams, and had some really good results, and gained some confidence from that,” Pittenger said. “Now, our lineup is a lot different, but everyone has done a great job adjusting. It’s just awesome to see them come through, especially this weekend, so it’s been a lot of fun.”
Their next match is scheduled for Oct. 7th at 7:00 p.m. where they will face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Featured Image Courtesy of Larry French
