With the volleyball regular season winding down and gearing up for the playoffs, it’s nice to appreciate the hard work that our student athletes do and how it pays to the current season. The regular season is ending, but the true test of athletic prowess is coming up after Homecoming for students to get excited over.
According to Winthrop Athletics, the Winthrop Women’s Volleyball team clinched the title of Big South Regular Season Champion following a four-set win over UNC Asheville on Nov. 9 at Winthrop Coliseum.
This victory not only marks an undefeated season for the team, but marks the second time the team has earned the title, with the first being when they were Co-Champions with Liberty in 2011.
Junior defensive specialist Savannah Roper noted how this title is important for the undefeated season to Winthrop University.
“The title of Regular Season conference champions is important because it shows this team’s grit and resilience to find a way to win every game. It could have been easy to slip up, but we kept our composure and willingness to win. But we don’t want to stop there!! The overall conference tournament champions is what we are working for,” Roper said.
One of the highlights of the game was senior Siani Yamaguchi playing an impressive defensive style, receiving a career-high 23 digs, to go along with 48 assists, four kills and three service aces during the match. While finishing the season strong seems good, it provides motivation as the tournament comes at the end of the semester.
“It’s a great feeling being undefeated this season but now we have a target on our back, it’s important for us to stay disciplined and outwork whoever our next opponent may be,” Yamaguchi said. “When the Big South Tournament comes around, it’s 0-0, it’s anyone’s game and the season records won’t matter. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Outside hitter Jace Kleffner played a big role in the game, helping earn the first set victory.
“It is super exciting and all the hard work from the summer and preseason has shown through and everyone on this team contributed to the title of regular season champions,” Kleffner said.
With the season winding down from tournaments at home and cities like Washington D.C., the members of the volleyball team were proud to see the hard work they put in paid off.
“Being undefeated in conference and at home is an amazing feeling! It brings us [confidence] going into the conference tournament and we have proved to ourselves that we are fully capable of winning the tournament,” Roper said.
Throughout the season, the team participated in multiple tournaments and managed to pull through at home and away, causing a sense of accomplishment for the team’s hard work.
“A definite highlight was the weekend where we played High Point University and swept them and then the next day we played Radford University and won against them as well. Both those teams were major competitors and our rivals and we won,” Kleffner said.
The team focused on improving itself by looking at the camaraderie between the players and working that into the strategies on the court.
“The biggest improvement that became evident throughout the season was our team chemistry and paying attention to the small details that make us better,” Roper said.
Being undefeated this season was made possible by the team continuously working to improve themselves.
“One of our team goals we put together at the beginning of the season was to be undefeated at home, and we accomplished that. To be undefeated in our opponent’s gyms is just an added goal we achieved and it is really incredible,” Kleffner said.
At the beginning of the season, the women’s volleyball team focused on improving themselves every day to not burnout over the season by wasting energy and improving their stamina. This goal of not burning out helped engage the players during practice and translate to successes in the court.
“I think as the season goes on, most teams feel “burnt” out and start to go through the motions at practices. As a whole, our team did a good job staying engaged at every practice and I think that’s what helped us be successful this season,” Yamaguchi said.
Another area that the team improved on was one of adapting with every match as the season went on.
“We adapted to adversity and we changed things quickly. We used to not be very good at adaptation or we would adapt and it would be too late so I think we really developed and now we know how to change fast,” Kleffner said.
After the match against Gardner Webb with a senior recognition for the 2019 class before the match, the women’s volleyball team is now heading toward the tournament. The Eagles are eager to show the hard work they put into this season.
“The tournament is going to be the true test of our program and what we can bring. Every member of the team has to be on and we can win the Championship for sure, but it will take all of us,” Kleffner said.
Photo: Gabby Gardner/ The Johnsonian
