Women’s volleyball loses to CBC after battling out a win the previous night
By Courtnie Martin, Sports Reporter
The women’s volleyball team picked up a win against Columbia Bible College (CBC) on November 15, so on the afternoon of November 16 the defeated Bearcats came out amped up and ready for retaliation. As a result, they quickly answered to their beating the previous night, taking the first set. The Royals struggled defending their spike due to breakdowns in communication. Libero Ilaina Hecimovic kept the team motivated and was their headstrong voice throughout. The team attempted to come back, but proved to be no match for the Bearcats, falling 25-13.
The second set was very much the same pace, though the Royals put up a few points early, giving them an initial lead in the set. Rachelle Flores was a major contributor to this surge with a back-to-back deuce. The Bearcats called a quick timeout to try and stem the flow and it worked. The course of the game changed drastically, going tit for tat on the scoreboard. The second set ended when the Royals blocked a spike out of bounds. CBC took it 25-23.
After losing the first two sets, the Royals were desperate to make a comeback in the third, but CBC showed no signs of letting up. They continued to benefit off of defensive breakdowns. The Royals created incredible saves in the final set and Kalena Connors made a few much needed aces on the floor, but it was not enough to send the game into a fourth set as CBC won 25-19.
The Royals appeared extremely disappointed in their performance after a well-played game the previous night.
“It was a good learning experience because we have four starters that are first years. They are learning that on back-to-back headers they have to play at their level 10 both days. Kalena came through when we were down. I was very impressed with her aggressive serving and great presence at the net,” said coach Kyra Iannone.
“We kind of let this game slip through our fingers, but we definitely learned from it and we plan on using this learning experience towards our game next week against VIU,” said Flores.
