The undeniable competitive rivalry against Sigma Phi Epsilon and Sigma Chi surrounded Racer Arena Monday night as the two teams went head to head on the volleyball court.
The first game of the match seemed to be going well for the men of Sig Ep when 6-foot-3-inch teammate, Hal Abel, had multiple blocks back to back. However, momentum quickly shifted to the other side of the court. The team of Sigma Chi began to strategically place its hits and tips in the empty spots on Sig Ep’s side of the court.
While the Sigma Chi team changed the pace of its game, the Sig Ep team grew lazy. Hitters were no longer being covered by other players and balls were dropping in between teammates. Simple mistakes left Sig Ep trailing behind and cost the team its first game of the match. Sigma Chi took the win with a score of 25-20.
When the teams switched sides of the court and the second game started, there was a substitute of players for the Sig Ep team. These new faces gave energy to the team. With this new charisma and more blocks by teammate Hal Abel, team Sig Ep took the lead and came out on top finishing the second game with an ace. The score was 25-17.
It all came down to the third and final game. The teams switched sides of the court once again and Sigma Chi started off with a 5-0 lead. It seemed as if one side of the court was cursed for Sig Ep.
Andy Siebert, coach for Sig Ep, called a timeout to talk to his players.
“I told them to get it together and told Hal to control his blocks,” Siebert said.
The advice Siebert gave worked, and Sig Ep scored their first point of the third game immediately after the timeout.
Sig Ep started to come back, but Sigma Chi continued to fight. It was a neck-and-neck game at 10-10 then 12-12. However, team Sig Ep kept the next 3 points on its side and won with a score of 15-12 in the third game. This left Sig Ep with the overall win.
One thing was clear about this match, both teams had knowledge in the game of volleyball. Many of the players were adequate in their serving, bumping, setting, and spiking. Sig Ep coach, Andy Siebert, played high school volleyball so his strengths added to the team. Aside from Siebert, three starting players for Sig Ep had competitive experience in volleyball. This helped Sig Ep to take the win.
“We came out lazy and laid back,” Rist said of why Sig Ep lost the first game.
Surprisingly, the men of Sig Ep only had one practice before the game against Sigma Chi, where they worked on defense, spiking, and serves.
Siebert says team Sig Ep will have more to work on in practice regardless of the victory.
“We need to work on serving. That killed us,” Siebert said.
Rist also agreed that the team needed some more practice.
“Our defense will need work,” Rist said.
Team Sig Ep is now 3-0 with wins against Phi Kappa Tau and Alpha Sigma Phi B team while the men of Sigma Chi fall to 1-1 with a win against Phi Kappa Tau.
Story by Taylor Crum, Contributing writer.