In Oberlin, Ohio this weekend, the girl’s volleyball team once again could not be stopped.
The Tigers opened up conference play against home team Oberlin College and took them down in three straight sets (25-16, 25-14, 25-17).
Senior Mary Kate Etling led the team with nine kills and junior Faith Rowles had 27 assists. Junior Keely McGrath had 14 digs and two aces.
“The great thing about our team is that we are always improving and finding new ways to win,” Etling said. “We go in to every match with the same mindset. We focus on each match and winning it rather than looking at is as increasing our win streak. In our minds if we play DePauw Volleyball we can beat anyone.”
Then the Tigers took on Manchester College and swept them as well 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-13).
Junior Sarah Burtenshaw had nine kills, and Rowles also had two aces.
“We played well this weekend,” McGrath said, “but there is always room for us to grow as a team.”
Now currently ranked 19th in the country, the Tigers are glad to see their hard work earning them recognition.
“It's amazing how far this team has come and how hard we have worked to be recognized,” McGrath said. “With being ranked 19th, we hold ourselves to a higher expectation this season. We chose the motto ‘Limitless’ for this season because we truly believe that we are limitless as a team. We have the potential to climb the rankings to the top and achieve many things this season.”
Etling agreed the national ranking was a thrill.
“Being ranked 19 is an incredible feeling,” Etling added. “It is nice to see our handwork being recognized at the national level. While it is an awesome testament to our team to see this recognition we know that we have yet to reach our potential and we are continuously improving.”
Beyond their national ranking, the Tigers are also enjoying an 11-game win streak.
“As a team, we carry this attitude that we are going to play to win, not to avoid losing," Mcgrath said. “We are hungry as a team this year because we know our potential and expect the best from each other. So, I think this drive and push from each other has kept this win streak going.”
Despite the recent success, the players are doing their best to stay grounded.
“We are looking at the rest of the season one game at a time,” McGrath said. “What we are focused on now are our games against Mount Union, Geneva, Wooster and Carnegie Melon this weekend and how we can defeat these teams. We are taking things one game at a time.”
Etling gave a step by step of how the Tigers plan to achieve their long-term goals.
“Our first goal of the season is to win conference, and then to win our conference tournament,” she said. “Winning the conference tournament gives us an automatic bid to the National Tournament, which is our next goal. This team is extremely focused and we know what we want to achieve this year. In order to reach these larger goals we have to focus on the smaller things and continue to improve,” finished Etling.
The Tigers take on the University of Mount Union and Geneva College this Saturday at Mount Union.