Elizabethtown College’s women’s volleyball team is stepping up their game as their season continues. The Blue Jays’ overall records stands at 11-15, with only five matches left in their season.
The Blue Jays played their last two Landmark Conference matches on Saturday, Oct. 18. It was their last chance to improve on their conference record. The Blue Jays delivered and brought in two wins, finishing with a Landmark Conference record of 3-4. Senior Kelci Scannapieco attributes these wins to the team’s high energy and confidence in themselves. “Our coaches expected us to beat these two teams, and we went out and got the job done,” senior Jen Cook said.
Combined with a win against Albright on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the victories give the Blue Jays their longest winning streak of the season, at three games. Junior Steph High referred to Saturday’s wins as “bittersweet,” because despite these great performances, the Blue Jays did not qualify for the playoffs in the Landmark Conference Tournament.
The Blue Jays took on Goucher College as the first of their Saturday Homecoming matches and beat them in three games. The Blue Jays won the first two games by nine and 15 points, respectively, with scores of 25-16 and 25-10. The Blue Jays continued their fight to win the last match 25-19.
In the first set, after a back and forth fight, a kill from Scannapieco enabled the Blue Jays to take the lead at 8-7, which they held onto until the last point. In the second set, the Blue Jays took the lead much sooner, and kept up their hard work, amounting to their 15-point win. Goucher came back fighting in the third and final set, but was no match for the Blue Jays. Goucher momentarily took the lead after a six-point streak that came from four errors and two aces. After a quick timeout, the Blue Jays got their head back in the game and finished off the set with a victory.
Within these three matches, the Blue Jays had a total of 38 kills, 19 of which belonged to Scannapieco. Senior Samantha Hicks and first-years Brittianni Phillips and Allie Traynor added to the team total with four kills each. Phillips also contributed five blocks. Junior Brynne Kirsch led the team in assists, amounting to 18, and High added 14 assists as well as nine digs. Cook supported the team defensively with her 16 digs, and junior Megan McNaul added eight digs of her own.
The Blue Jays were not done fighting that day as they faced Catholic University later and were able to shut them out in three matches as well. Scannapieco said she was especially “proud of [the] team for remaining focused after the long break between games.” Cook said that “everything was clicking,” and the Blue Jays were “having fun as a team.”
The matches against Catholic followed a similar pattern to those against Goucher, as the Blue Jays dominated the first two games, finishing with scores of 25-14 and 25-15. The third game was closer, as after a six-point streak from Catholic, the game went nearly point for point. Once again, the Blue Jays called a timeout and were able to finish and take the set at 25-21. “There wasn’t a moment on that court that we doubted ourselves,” Scannapieco said. This mindset surely contributed to the Blue Jay’s constant efforts.
Scannapieco led the team with 18 kills for these three matches. McNaul and senior Taylor Beck each accounted for six of the team’s 39 kills. Phillips asserted her strong presence at the net, contributing five blocks. Kirsch had 12 assists, while High had 19 assists and 11 digs. Cook also had 12 digs of her own while Beck had 11.
“These two wins were huge for our confidence,” Scannapieco said. The girls will look to improve their overall record and end on a positive note as they finish out their season. “These wins were a big step towards ending the season with a winning record. We want to remember this season positively, which is possible if we can end it on a high note with lots of wins,” Cook said.
