The volleyball team has yet to disappoint this season, bringing home its third consecutive tournament championship with another win at the High Point Classic in North Carolina Saturday.
Head Coach David Schwepker said he and the team are thrilled with their tournament play so far this season.
“We’re excited about the winning, but the girls have been working really hard to make this happen,” Schwepker said. “All the hard work they’ve been doing is paying off.”
Schwepker said the team has been working hard in its practices, tweaking the mistakes they have made in past matches.
“We went into this tournament working on certain areas,” Schwepker said. “One was trying to keep our composure as the game goes on. I think the athletes did that a lot better this weekend than we have in the past. I was really proud of how they kept their composure through the tight spots.“
Schwepker said that he is also trying to teach the players to understand that mistakes are always going to be made.
“We’re never going to play perfect, so we have to get over it and keep our heads up throughout the rest of the game,” Schwepker said.
Despite the Racers’ success, Schwepker said that one major weakness the team had at the High Point Classic was blocking.
“The one good thing about this team so far, though, is that we’ve given them some challenges and things to improve on and they seem to take it to heart and make changes,” Schwepker said.
Next, the Racers face Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State respectively, but Schwepker said he is not worried about what the other teams bring to the floor.
“What we are really concentrating on is how we perform out there and working on the things that we try to change,” Schwepker said. “We can’t change Tennessee Tech. We can’t change Jacksonville State. We control our side of the court. Let them do their thing and we will see what happens.”
Regardless of the team’s achievements this season, Schwepker said the ultimate goal is always the same.
“We want to win conference then go to the NCAA tournament,” Schwepker said. “To win the conference tournament you have to win three matches in a row. We’ve already proven that we can win three matches in a row, and I think that’s big.”
Story by Taylor Crum, Staff Writer