The volleyball team travels to Birmingham, Al. this week to begin its season with a three-match slate starting on Friday, Aug. 24 against Loyola Chicago and McNeese State.
The team, led by Coach Keith Schunzel played a preseason match on Thursday, Aug. 16, against the University of Chattanooga giving his players game experience in preparation for the opening matches. The Owls found success in the match, defeating the Mocs three sets to one.
After winning the first set 25-15, the Owls dropped the second set before settling down and winning the following two sets. Many of the players aiming to star for the Owls this season started the match.
Junior setter Lexi Broadwater provided a game-high 35 assists while also getting four blocks. Her performance, along with several others should give Schunzel a reason to expect maximum efforts come Friday.
“I’m really proud of our team’s first effort with our jerseys on this fall, specifically our mental effort, which we’ve been talking about every day,” Schunzel said. “Overall, as our team is still figuring out our exact identity and how we’re going to attack opponents, I’m pretty pleased with how clean of volleyball we played against a nice team.”
The three matches that await the Owls will be a test of their skill and stamina, as they play twice on Friday before facing off against Samford on Saturday.
Loyola Chicago is coming off a difficult 5-24 season but will be looking to improve with a squad mostly comprised of upperclassmen.
McNeese State will pose a more potent challenge for the Owls, as they come off a 19-13 season. The clear challenge for the Cowgirls will be incorporating the youth of their squad into the match.
Samford is coming off a 13-18 season but possesses a dangerous player in Krista Boesing, who has garnered preseason All-Conference honors.
Starting the season off with momentum will be vital for the Owls, who face many new challenges as a team in transition. Although they will miss the seniors who guided them to success last season, the team must push forward and commit to each other in order to continue that success.
