The DePauw women's volleyball team revved up its season this past weekend with a tournament win at the Charlie Wrublewski Tournament.
Their domination in Cincinnati has brought the Tigers to a 5-1 season record, already outperforming last season's record of this time, when they were 4-2.
Speculation continues if they can top last year's streak of 17 consecutive wins, though.
With the past weekend behind them, they definitely seem to be on the right path. Two players, senior Kelly Doyle and sophomore Keely McGrath both represented DePauw on the all-tournament team.
McGrath was one of last year's standout first-year players on a team that was heavily tilted toward the younger ages. There are still eight sophomore players on a team of 21 people.
But the new players just keep on coming. Four new first-year members of the team join them. And they are here to play.
"They're very talented, athletic and truly help the team in all aspects," McGrath said about the first-years. "They're very energetic and excited about playing on the team, which has really helped us stay motivated for the upcoming season."
Motivation is surely not a problem for the Tigers of any age. First-year Elisabeth Wilson stood out at the tourney with three service aces against Thomas More College and five blocks in the win against College of Mount St. Joseph.
"The [first-years] are looking good this year with a lot of talent and potential," first-year Megan Wagner said. "I think we all lift each other up when we're down."
Lift each other up they did, as the effort did not end with the new class. Sophomore Faith Rowles added on team-best 30 assists and four blocks. Doyle finished with the game against Mount St. Joseph with 15 kills of her own.
The team-wide dynamic is extremely evident with the array of players that make these accomplishments.
"There is definitely competition [on the team]," Wagner said. "It depends on positions but there are a lot of really good sophomores, junior, and seniors. They're just a really talented group of upperclassmen."
It seems that as the season continues on, the different ages become more and more in sync, giving way for a stronger team bond. Especially with two players of different ages making the all-tournament team, it really goes to show that the Tigers can not rely solely on their single incoming class, or their strong sophomore class. This season will be a full-team effort.
"Being a large sophomore class we realize that we were in their shoes only last year so we've kind of taken [the first-years] under our wings, although they've done a great job on their own," McGrath said. "Overall, though, I think everyone has stepped up being leaders this year. I think, honestly, it's a whole team effort."