The new SXU women’s volleyball season is in full swing as the team is coming off of a great season that finished with a loss in the opening round of 2012 NAIA Volleyball National Championships. The team is going to try and get back to Nationals this year, but they are off to a bit of a rocky start.
The Cougars lost their first three matches of the season against very good opponents. Their first two games of the season took place in a tournament at University of Michigan-Dearborn against nationally ranked opponents. Their opener started off against No. 11-ranked Madonna University with the Cougars falling in three sets: 18-25, 12-25, 12-25. The team kept it close in the first set, but Madonna University took complete control from there. The team was led by sophomore right side hitter Meghan Falsey and junior setter Kelli Shaffer. Falsey had 8 kills in the match, while Shafer had a team-high 14 assists and 4 kills.
The second match came against another tough, ranked opponent, this time hailing from Point Park University—they are ranked No. 22 in the country. The Cougars lost this very competitive match in four sets: 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 19-25. The team got a great effort from several players, especially junior Dominique Aramburu, who led the team with 10 kills. Junior middle hitter Marie Hackert finished with a team-high 19 digs, while Falsey had 8 kills for the Cougs.
On Friday the team started play in the two-day SXU/Trinity Christian Crossover Classic against University of Saint Francis (Ind.). The team dropped the opener in straight sets: 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20, putting their record at 0-3 for the season. But they would recover later that night.
The Cougars would get their first win of the season against Huntington University (Ind.) in four sets: 25-15, 25-27, 25-21 and 25-19. The team also welcomed new middle blocker sophomore transfer Heidi Gregerson, who had a major impact in her debut. In two matches, she had 20 kills and 5 blocks for the team. She had 14 kills in her very first match against the University of Saint Francis while Hackert chipped in eight kills to go along with Shaffer’s 27 assists.
In the second game, Hackert led the way to victory with 14 kills and two solo blocks in front of an excited Cougar Nation, which was hyped to see the team post their first win of the season. Shaffer played an excellent all around game with 29 assists, 15 digs, 7 kills and 6 aces. Sophomore libero Lauren Young also had 15 digs for the Cougars in her second season with the team.
The SXU women’s volleyball team is looking to continue the success of last season’s team that made it all the way to Nationals before their opening round exit. The team is fairly young this season after losing five seniors to graduation, including 2012 CCAC Volleyball Player of the year Desiree Aramburu and Kelly Knudsen, who got honorable mention recognition for the 2012 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Team.
The Cougs will be led this season by returning players such as juniors Hackert and Shaffer, and other returning players such as Falsey and Dominique Aramburu. The team is excited to show their talents to the Cougar community, so come out and support the team at their next home game on September 13 against Saint Ambrose University at 7pm.
Damone Griffin
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