The women’s volleyball team is coming off a season in which they graduated many seniors. Through the first eight matches, the team is currently 3-5 on the season overall, with three tournaments under their belt. This past weekend, they went 2-1 at their home opener, the Viking Classic tournament.
This is an extremely young team since graduating their senior starters in May of 2024. Transitioning from a senior-led lineup to a more junior led lineup, they are still trying to find their groove.
“We are a younger team with a lot of new faces starting this season, but the team chemistry is definitely there,” junior Leah Rizzo said. “We got to see glimpses of great connections and high-level volleyball that we can build upon throughout the season.”
With being a younger team, there is a newfound emphasis of communication and unity on the court. With six players on the court all wanting to contribute, effective communication is crucial to create a synchronized and enjoyable game.
The team’s unity and support for one another is essential for their performance on the court, as it allows them to better respond to challenges and play to their strengths. The team even does activities like “two laps” to address communication issues but in a way that is more about resetting mentally rather than punishment.
“We harmonize with each other, we bounce off of each other and we support each other,” junior Carli Udovich said. “So if we do high communication and we’re in sync with one another, it just makes playing so much more fun and more synchronized.”
The players remain optimistic, focusing on their supportive environment. By doing so, it becomes a key strength in helping this relatively new team come together to play good volleyball. The team’s loving and supportive attitude towards one another has been described as the best that it has been on the team over the past couple of seasons.
“We’re also accepting, and I think that’s something that’s actually newer to this team,” junior Alexis Richards said. “We are a very loving and accepting team…also just our attitude overall is the best that I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
With the Viking Classic this past weekend, the team is also focusing on diving deep to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
“Obviously, we’re working through our weaknesses, but also strengthening our strengths as well, because you can’t just focus on one thing,” Udovich said. “You have to focus on a large scale of things. To prepare for the tournament, we are really doing practice lifts and during those practices we are really focusing on our strengths and our weaknesses.”
Following a 3-1 loss against conference foe Millikin University, the Vikings record moves to 3-6 on the season. Their next match is on the road against Grinnell College on Sept. 20.