Volleyball Drops Three More

The Yeowomen Seek Redemption This Weekend

The Oberlin women's volleyball team traveled to Indiana this past weekend to take on North Coast Athletic Conference rivals Earlham and Kenyon.

The Yeomen dropped both games in straight sets, losing to Kenyon 15-8, 15-5, 15-11 and to Earlham 15-1, 15-7, 15-8. Unfortunately these losses combined with the three-game loss against Marietta College on Tuesday dropped their record to 3-8-0 with a conference record of 0-3-0.

"These were two games we needed to win to stay competitive in the conference. It hurts to lose them," junior Anna Ruth said.

Though the games this week added to Oberlin's losing streak, Coach Leeza Ramsey and the players felt that they had accomplished some of the goals they had set for themselves.

"At the beginning of the year we came up with a list called ŒPoints of Pride'. ŒPoints of Pride' is a list of things the team wants to be able to do every game," Ramsey said.

The list is comprised of three points of pride. First, loose ball hustle. Next, relentless back row attack, meaning that the back row should always be in position to convert anything into an opportunity to score. The final goal on the list simply says "digs."

"A dig is a pass off a hard driven spike," sophomore setter Mariana Padias said.

"This is the area we take the most pride in," said Ramsey. "We can't always control the game offensively so we try and control it through our defensive play. If you look at the games we have played well in, we have done a good job defensively and converted that into a stronger offense."

In the two games this past weekend, the Yeowomen rounded up 78 digs as a team, with Ruth contributing 26 of the 78. This number far outweighs the number of kills allotted by the Yeomen, 41, almost half the number of digs. Ruth put up decent numbers in this category too, leading the team both games in kills and totaling 17.

Padias tallied 22 assists in the game against Earlham and Ruth accounted for the team's 12 against Kenyon.

Oberlin took on visiting Marietta in Philips Gymnasium Tuesday. The Yeowomen didn't fare so well in this match either, losing in three games.

Marietta's front line was able to dominate the nets both offensively and defensively in the game. As a team, the Lady Pioneers picked up 24 kills as opposed to Oberlin's 18, and 16 blocks compared to five for the Yeowomen.

"The opportunities were there tonight, we just weren't taking advantage of them like we should have," Padias said.

"One thing we have been working on is coming out stronger in the opening games. We were able to do that against Marietta, which was a huge plus," Ramsey said.

The Yeowomen did come out strong in the first game, jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead, leaving Marietta on their heels, grasping for control. Marietta found their rhythm though and ended up taking the first game 15-11.

In the second game, Oberlin had another quick start, but again the Lady Pioneers didn't fade, winning 15-9.

In the third game, after a stalemate at five points, Marietta exploded, outscoring the Yeowomen 10-1 and taking the match 15-5.

"We were fluid on the court against Marietta. We just had a few missed opportunities and they had a huge front line," Ruth said.

Padias had 13 assists in the game and, according to teammate Ruth, "really stepped up for the team when we needed it."

"Even though it is not being reflected in the win column, we are slowly accomplishing the ŒPoints of Pride," Padias said.

The Yeowomen travel to Westminster, Pa., this weekend to participate in the Westminster College Tournament. Eight teams, being broken into two brackets of four, will play in the tourney. Oberlin will play Westminster, West Liberty and Hiram in their bracket, and one other team from the other bracket. The other bracket consists of Allegheny, Thiel, Indiana of Pennsylvania and Alder Brochious.

"This is always a competitive tournament and we look to fare well this weekend," Ramsey said.

"We are really looking forward to playing Hiram again. We have had a second chance to look at them and will be ready for them this time," she said.

"It's a chance for redemption, not so much redemption but a chance to prove that we can beat them," Ruth said.