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Volleyball splits two on the Road

Brie Mattson
October 1, 2002

The St. Olaf volleyball team hit the road for Northern Minnesota for two matches--one against the Cobbers of Concordia College and the other against Blazers of the College of Saint Benedict. Coming off a big win at home earlier in the week against Gustavus, the Oles were ready to make a move in the MIAC.

The Cobbers brought a lot of fight to the volleyball court on Friday, September 27th, taking the Oles to five games. The first game, the Oles came out on top 30-28. The Cobbers lack of defensive, brought the Oles game to a new level of intensity. Both teams seemed evenly matched. The Oles won the first game with fire and momentum, but the next two games were a "lull" compared to the push the Cobbers gave.

The second game was a product of a hard fight but lacked the usual team communication and encouragment the team. The defense was a strong point for the Oles, a key factor for staying tight with the Cobbers on the scoreboard. When Concordia pushed their offense hard, the Oles responeded with a push back, accumulating dig after dig. The Oles faltered however, and dropped the second and third games, 30-24 and 30-21 respectively.

In the fourth game, the team made rallied together and made the match amazing. The Oles hard work paid off as they won the game, 30-24. The pace the Oles gained, set the momentum as the finished out the match 15-13 in the fifth game.

The match against Concordia went to five games, so the Oles only had a short rest before they were on the road again, driving to St. Joseph, Minnesota for the match against the College of Saint Benedict.

This match held quite a different feel than the night before. The Oles showed fatigue by letting runs of points slip by before pushing back. With the rally scoring system, deficits of even five points are a struggle to regain and close the gap. Tough serving and amazing blocking brought the Oles back to life. The Oles battled and came close in all three games, resulting in losses of 30-21, 31-29, and 30-27.

The team will host the College of St. Catherine, Wednesday, Oct. 2nd at 7:30 p.m. and travel to the Simpson Invitational in Indianola, Iowa. Come and cheer on the St. Olaf Women's Volleyball team!

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-786-3315 or finger@stolaf.edu.