While the Tigers came away with only a 1-2 record from the Baker Chevrolet Volleyball Classic in Bloomington, Illinois this past weekend, women’s volleyball saw the games as another stepping-stone in preparing for conference.
“We were very excited about the opportunities this weekend,” said head coach Deb Zellers. “At the end of your schedule, you want opportunities to beat great teams, and if those opportunities don’t exist, then you don’t get the chance to prove yourself as a team.”
DePauw faced nothing but great teams, as they went up against three nationally ranked programs.
The Tigers opened the tournament with a 1-3 loss to Illinois Wesleyan on Friday.
Despite the setback, DePauw came returned Saturday to play a hard-fought, five-set match that ended in a 3-2 victory for the Tigers.
“Our team enters every game with the same mindset: if we play our game together, we will win,” said senior outside hitter Lauren Falotico. “It is exciting to play nationally-ranked teams because strong competition makes for fun volleyball, but we enter every one of our matches with the same mindset, regardless of rankings.”
In what proved to be their strongest game, DePauw was led by Falotico and first-year outside hitter Suzanne Peters, who both had 17 kills. Senior defensive specialist Keeley McGrath ended the match with 17 digs, followed by defensive specialist Rachael Kenderman’s 16. Defensive specialist Brekiesha Weszely had two of the Tiger’s four aces.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they could not carry their momentum into the final game of the tournament, as the team was shut out 0-3 later in the day by Carthage.
Despite the disappointing finish, Zellers has faith in her players to carry the team deep into the conference tournament.
“My feeling with this team is that we’re fighters," she said. "It hasn’t always been pretty this season, but I like our grit, I like our determination I’ve felt with this team that at any moment, we can just take that small step and hit a spark , and abosolutely change the course of our season."
DePauw will look for that spark heading into Friday’s conference tournament opener, where the Tigers will take on Kenyon in Springfield, Ohio in the NCAC quarterfinal.