Volleyball finds success in regular season

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor 

The Ohio Wesleyan volleyball team still has four more games left in the season, but the women’s team is showing an impressive regular season performance with an overall record of 14-6.

For OWU athletes, a season can become difficult to manage with having to practice, play games, go to class and do schoolwork.

This can cause some athletes to become distracted with overwhelming responsibilities that can affect performance. Butthe OWU volleyball team is showing everyone on campus that they can perform well.

“We have a true family full of supportive, encouraging, and competitive teammates and we are all on the same page going for the ultimate team goals and trying to be the best selves in order to bring the best to the team,” said head coach Kirsta Cobb.

The women’s team is showing an impressive season with 14 wins and 6 losses. This is making some players confident for the future. Junior Lauren Carpenter is the right-side hitter for the team and she said she is pleased with the team’s success.

“We are really happy where we are right now but there are always things we can improve on,” Carpenter said.

One of the team’s strengths is its home performance. The Bishops are dominant at home, boasting a 7-0 record but with a strength, there is a weakness, with the team’s away record being 2-4.

“We have to do a lot of traveling which is tough,” said Carpenter. “But we are definitely a team that plays well at home.”

One of the team’s biggest challenges every season is playing the Wittenberg Tigers. The Tigers are on top of the Division III volleyball world by being the number one team in the country. Cobb said she is confident that the team’s chemistry and experience will overcome any obstacle.

“We have played a pretty tough schedule, and are growing each day of this season,” Cobb said. “We have a lot of newcomers, half of the team actually – as well as a strong leadership group.”

“[Playing Wittenberg] is a great challenge because it gives us a chance to play the number one team in the country,” Carpenter said.

The success of this season has put the women’s team in third place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

This past fall break, the team traveled to Michigan to compete in the Midwest invitational, where the Bishops beat Elmhurst and Adrian University, both in five sets. They also lost to Hope College in three sets and Ithaca in five sets.

The team has only four more regular season games to play before the NCAC tournament in November at Wittenberg. Of the four games left, Alleghany and DePauw are the only conference games left in the season. After those matches, the team will play Mount Union and then Otterbein to conclude the regular season.

“As a team we do not feel we are where we need to be yet, but we are working hard to get there every day, and feel the things we are doing are helping us to get there,” Cobb said.