GCSU’s Women’s Volleyball team finished two major tournaments, playing four school teams the weekend of Sept. 13. The tournaments were the Lee Tournament and the Flames Invitational. These two tournaments consisted of two separate games, all of which were hosted by Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.
The four schools that GCSU challenged were; Lee University, Lincoln Memorial University, Arkansas Tech, and Eckerd University. After the four games, GCSU dropped to a 3-5 win/lose ratio.
The volleyball team did experience adversity in Tennessee, but the coaches and the players agreed that the Lee Tournament and Flames Invitational improved their awareness of other competitors. While at face value, the score went down, team morale had only increased.
GCSU faced Lee University first at the Lee Tournament. In their fourth set, Lee University won with the Bobcats only having one win.
In GCSU’s second game on Friday, Sept 13., Lincoln Memorial University won with the same score of three to one. GCSU’s team only won two sets during the tournament out of a potential 12.
This standing of only two sets won means that the other two teams beat GCSU three to zero. That Saturday, Arkansas Tech and Eckerd University both won games against GCSU.
The volleyball team was ranked number five out of 36 schools. As of Aug. 29, the Peach Belt League Coaches gave them four votes.
Lander University ranks second in the Peach Belt Conference. They will compete against GCSU on Oct. 5.
Augusta University will be playing GCSU on Oct. 12 after ranking first in the Peach Belt Conference. Augusta University boasts five wins in the Peach Belt Conference in the last six years.
“The main thing that we need improvement on right now is not going to five sets,” said Dai Lamaster, GCSU’s graduate volleyball coach. “We are hitting our goal.”
In volleyball, the teams play a best-of-five match, with the team’s strategy being to wear their opponent down by not exerting themselves during the first few games.
“We missed way too many serves,” said Abigail King, GCSU’s head volleyball coach. This was one of the coach’s concerns when exploring how team improvements could be made throughout the remainder of the season.
To start a round of play in volleyball, a valid serve must be hit over the net. Most of GCSU’s invalid serves are over the opposing team’s out-of-bounds line. Starting a good round would improve the team’s final scores.
The Women’s volleyball team consists of 20 players eager to finish up 18 more games with the best they can before the Peach Belt Tournament.
Since the tournament, the volleyball team has acquired three more wins and will have competed against Flagler University on Sunday, Sep. 29. at the Centennial Center.
“We have to fight as a team. We can’t play individualized through those hard times,” said Camryn Carlton, a volleyball player and public health major at GCSU. “As long as we can stick together, we can win a game.”
