TYLER, Texas – St. Edward's volleyball opened the season with two losses, recovering from a rough first match to show sparks of potential in the second before the inexperience of a team relying heavily on newcomers and returners in new roles surfaced.
"We had a better second showing today. It will take some time for us to acclimate with half of the roster being new and most of the returners not having significant playing time last year," St. Edward's Head Volleyball Coach Jared Te'o says. "I like the fight we saw in the second match, and although it stings, there were some good takeaways."
Game 1: Harding 3, St. Edward's 0 (25-7, 25-13, 25-20)
St. Edward's was put back on its heels early with a Grecia Soriano ace and back-to-back kills from Emma Winiger as part of a 5-0 run to start the match.
It took time for the young Hilltoppers team to adjust to a Harding team standing just outside the top 25 in the AVCA national rankings. Harding produced a blistering .474 hitting percentage in the first set before St. Edward's found its footing, and the defense strengthened as the match wore on, making a big run in the third and final set to go out on a competitive 25-20 score in the 3-0 sweep.
Libero
SARAH KONOVODOFF surpassed 1,000 digs at St. Edward's with 22.
LOURDES GOMEZ led the team with nine kills, and setter
JORDAN CHAPMAN had 12 assists.
Harding featured a balanced attack, with Chloe Ingersoll and Jacey Lambert putting down seven kills each, but St. Edward's inflicted a lot of damage on itself with 26 attack errors.
Game 2: Fort Lewis 3, St. Edward's 2 (9-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-15)
St. Edward's bounced back with the elasticity of a bungee cord in the second match, quickly taking the first two sets against Fort Lewis. Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers couldn't sustain the momentum, dropping three consecutive closely contested sets, including a 17-15 loss in the fifth set.
LANDRY BAUGHMAN was spectacular with 16 kills on a .424 clip, and
KELLI FORDING was almost as effective with 15 kills on a .231 hitting percentage.
CASSIDY COLE and Baughman also contributed four block assists and a solo block each.
Konovodoff set the tone on defense with 29 digs, Chapman added 12 with 28 assists, and Gomez contributed 11 kills and 11 digs.
"Our freshmen showed up big in that second match and will continue to find their footing with more matches under their belt," Te'o says. "Sarah, Lourdes, and
DELANEY GREGORY stabilized our serve receive and allowed Kelli and Landry to have big matches offensively.
CORA YOUNG and
CASSIDY COLE also did a great job blocking and working pin-to-pin."
After St. Edward's limited Fort Lewis to a negative hitting percentage in the first two sets, Fort Lewis found its rhythm for back-to-back hitting percentages, including a .317 clip in a 25-20 third-set victory.
St. Edward's jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth set, but Fort Lewis rallied behind a combined seven kills from Alexis Hobie and JJ Curry.
"Sarah led the charge on defense, bending our block. She and Lourdes did a great job extending rallies. With time, we will get better at executing in tight moments," Te'o says. "The season is long, and we've got to focus on the little steps. We put ourselves in multiple positions to win that second match. The next step is to finish."
St. Edward's will resume play tomorrow with a 10 AM match against Southern Nazarene and a 3 PM match against Montevallo.
