The DePauw women’s volleyball team won three of four matches this weekend during the Tiger Invitational. The Tigers won against Whitman College, Elmhurst College and Alma College, falling to Aurora University.
“We played really good as a team, together,” said sophomore Grace Filburn. “After a long time away, we were ready to play.”
On Friday, the team played against Whitman College’s Blues and Aurora University’s Spartans.
When asked about Friday’s matches, first-year outside hitter Jessica Levy said, “[It] was full of ups and downs.”
In their first match, the Tigers beat the Blues 3-0. That match was consistent with scores of 25-17 in the first set, 25-16 the second set and 25-17 in the third set.
Against Whitman, Levy said, “We played much cleaner and with a lot more energy than we did in the Aurora match.”
Following the victory against the Blues, the Tigers lost to the Spartans 3-1. This match was less consistent with scores of 25-7 in the first set, 23-25 in the second set, 25-16 in the third set and 25-14 in the fourth set.
During the match against Aurora, Levy thought the women played with significantly less energy than they had against Whitman.
“Aurora, while they were a very good team, did not do anything substantial to contribute to their win. We have all the skills and talent needed to beat that team, but our energy was not there,” said Levy. “We had too many unforced errors and needed to control the game on our side of the net more in order to beat them.”
The Tigers regained their energy in time for Saturday’s matches as they swept the floor with winning scores of 3-0 for both matches. They played against Elmhurst College’s Bluejays and Alma College’s Scots.
On Saturday, the Tigers made a comeback and increased their record to 6-4. Against the Bluejays, the Tigers won 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) in a competitive match. Seniors Liv Hartman and Morgan Stearley’s ten kills, combined with Meaghan Etling’s five blocks and sophomore Jenna Purichia’s sixteen digs, helped the Tigers to their win.
The Tigers also beat the Scots 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-16).
Grace Filbrun led with 24 assists, two aces and 10 digs, while Jenna Purichia contributed 11 digs and Delaney Bell made three block assists. Morgan Stearley’s 16 kills combined with Levy’s 11 kills also helped the Tigers defeat the Scots.
“We had strong defense this weekend,” said junior Corri Rusk. “Especially with our blocking and digging, but we can always improve our play. After this weekend, I think we could improve on hitting around a big block and using more shots and playing smarter on our side of the court.”
Of her teammates, Levy said, “While everyone is competitive, that competition drives us to be better and to support those around us. More than half the team comes into practice early to get extra reps and that’s just one example of how everyone pushes each other to be the best they can be.”
The Tigers will play at home again this Saturday, Sept. 21 against Hanover College at 1 p.m. and Muskingum University at 3 p.m.