The women’s volleyball team has been on a roller coaster of emotions over last the week. After clinching a win against 19th ranked Pacific Lutheran, the Loggers seemed untouchable. However, in their next away game at Pacific University, the Loggers suffered a tough loss to the Boxers.
Last Wednesday, the Loggers, ranked 16th, were undefeated going into their toughest match yet. Pacific Lutheran is also nationally ranked, creating a match-up that was bound to be phenomenal. The Loggers made quick work of the Lutes, putting them away in three decisive sets. Seniors Brynn Blickenstaff (Eagle, Idaho.), Erika Greene (Sandy, Utah) and Jamie Ecklund (Tacoma, Wash.) each had high numbers or blocks and kills.
Blickenstaff and Greene had five block assists each and Ecklund racked up four. Blickenstaff also had seven kills for the Loggers after being aided by a couple of Greene’s 25 assists. “After Wednesday we were all very proud of each other. We had a game plan and executed every aspect of it. We played as a team and beat PLU together; we needed every single one of us to do that,” Greene said.
The games did not go as well the following Saturday when the Loggers took on Pacific University. As their first loss, the Loggers definitely had their thoughts on what could have gone wrong. “The difference between the PLU game and the Pacific game was our concentration and focus. We did not attack Pacific the way we planned and the way we know we can. Everyone had it out for us and we needed to stay focused to stay on top and we didn’t do that,” Greene said.
The hitting wasn’t there in the first set but the loggers managed to rally their team to take the second set from the Boxers. Sophomore Jackie Harvey (Santa Barbara, Calif.) led the team in kills with nine right alongside Harvey was Blickenstaff, putting up eight kills. Greene outplayed her previous performance with 38 assists and 12 digs, however it was not enough. The Boxer took out the Loggers in four games. “After beating PLU, I think we underestimated how hard we had to work for the next match. Pacific is a team that has been doing well lately but has been mediocre in the past so we did not come into the match with the same intensity and focus that we had walking into our game on Wednesday,” Blickenstaff said.
The Loggers have a week to digest what happened and they come back to play undefeated Whitworth in Walla Walla on Friday, Sept. 30. “From these past two games we have learned that we need to be consistent in our approach to every match, carrying the same intensity, mental focus, and confidence that we had in the PLU game. Our focus is to play like the nationally-ranked team that we know we are every week and work even harder in practice to reach the our potential,” Blickenstaff said.