Riding the momentum of a six-game win streak, the women’s volleyball team dropped its second home game of the season to conference rivals Muhlenberg by a score of 3-1. The loss lowers the Lady Jays to a 9-9 record.
Hopkins dominated early on in the first set, racing out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Mules would not go down easy and were able to keep the score at 16-11, until the Jays proceeded to score four straight points. Before the Lady Jays could close, a few unforced errors brought the score to 22-17, but a kill by freshman middle hitter Merez Visagie and a pair of aces from freshman outside hitter Liz Wuerstle clinched the set for Hopkins.
Muhlenberg turned the tables and got off to a hot start in the second set taking a 12-6 lead, causing Hopkins to call for a timeout. After the break, Hopkins clawed back, closing the gap to 12-10 on kills from Wuerstle and freshman setter Khristi Rhead, as well as a service ace from senior libero Anne Cohen. The teams traded points before an ace by Cohen and kills from Rhead and freshman outside hitter Erica Johnston brought the score to 21-20. It was then that the Mules seized control, winning four points to claim the second set 25-21 and leveling the score at 1-1.
In the third set, the Mules looked to be running away with the win after taking a 16-12 lead. However, two kills from junior outside hitter Ali Cox and an ace from junior setter Carolyn Zin brought the score to 16-15. The Mules then went on a four-point run to bring the score to 20-15, at which point both teams began to trade points. Following kills from Wuerstle and Visagie and a ball-handling error by Muhlenberg, Hopkins was poised to tie the set at 24. However, a service error by Reade caused the Jays to narrowly drop the set 25-23.
The fourth set opened up with back-and-forth action between the two teams, but at the midway point the Lady Jays looked to be in control with a 15-9 lead. However, the Mules fought back, bringing themselves within two before a kill from Wuerstle made the score 16-13. The Mules then went on a four-point run, aided in part by a blocking error, taking the lead and did not look back en route to a 25-21 set win, sealing the 3-1 victory.
According to Rhead, more work is in order.
“We have been beginning to find our game,” Rhead said. “But we are by no means where we want to be yet and our loss to Muhlenberg reflected this.”
While the box score of the match reflected a loss, Zin believes it could just as easily have been a win.
“We are a young team, and we are still building our team chemistry on the court,” Zin said. “This is all part of college sports. Sometimes you lose games that you shouldn’t have.”
Zin remained optimistic, noting that although the loss was disappointing, the season is long.
Moving forward, Rhead said the team is working on “sustaining our mental toughness and competitive spirit.”
“We are making adjustments to eliminate unforced errors,” Rhead said. “The team is becoming mentally tough already, but we are looking to excel beyond our current level.”
The Lady Jays will take the court on the road this Saturday against Swarthmore College, followed by a match against Neumann later in the day, where they will look to get back over the .500 mark. Zin believes that consistency will be the key to do just that.
“Our overall system is very unique,” Zin said. “We are continually building on it in order to maintain consistency in our style of play.”
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