Volleyball team’s motivation clear, 0-2 not coveted position
After dropping its first two conference matches at home, the volleyball team looks to pick itself off the ground for two conference games on the road this weekend.
By Jay Armstrong
Skiff Staff

The volleyball team will attempt a slow and steady climb back toward the top of Conference USA, with matches against St. Louis Friday and Memphis Saturday.

While at first glance these games may appear must-win for the team (8-10, 0-2 C-USA), head coach Prentice Lewis said this is not the case.

“We’re still a young team that needs to play consistently, but I will never put the team in a panic situation,” Lewis said. “We’re not in a panic situation.”

St. Louis is currently 2-0 in conference and sits two full games ahead of the Frogs coming into play this weekend.
While 0-2 is not an enviable position, the team has used this as motivation.

“We all knew we had to work much harder to make things happen,” said outside hitter Julie Van’t Wout. “We got motivation from our losses and we came in to push harder.”

The opportunity was there for the team to sulk on the losses, but the team said the losses are a thing of the past.

“We’re upset about the losses, but we’re ready to move on,” outside hitter Hayley Harmon said. “We’re not dwelling on them, we’re ready to win.”

The Lady Billikens are led by senior middle hitter Colleen Hunter who leads the team with 5.10 kills a game, 2.68 digs a game and 1.41 blocks a game. The all-time series between the Lady Billikens and TCU is tied at one match each.

After the Friday match, the team will travel to Memphis for another key C-USA showdown with the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers are led by junior outside hitter Brittany Barnett with 4.17 kills a game and freshman Lauren Berg with 3.23 digs a game.

Memphis holds the edge in the all-time series 1-0.

Victories over St. Louis and Memphis this weekend would set up a matchup with fourth place Houston Oct. 18.