Coming into last weekend’s volleyball tournament, there was question of how big losing three very talented seniors actually was to a team who appeared to be somewhat inexperienced.
The Falcon netters answered that question very distinctly when they went 4-0 over the weekend, winning the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational.
‘This is a great start for our team,’ coach Denise Van De Walle said. ‘We looked a lot older and more mature than our experience level.’
The Falcons started off with a 25-14, 25-18, 29-27 sweep of Loyola, setting the tone early.
In the opening set, BG hit .500 and had the help of seniors Kaitlin Jackson and Corey Domek who combined for nine kills. For the match, they had seven team blocks and held Loyola to a .170 attacking percentage. The Falcons had a 48-31 advantage in digs and finished with 53 kills.
For Van De Walle, getting off to a hot start with a win in the first match was exactly what the team needed, as it helped them throughout the tournament.
‘We got better and better as the weekend went on,’ she said. ‘[Winning the first match] gave us a chance to play a lot of players. We got to see some strengths and weaknesses, too.’
In the second match against Robert Morris, the Falcons were faced with a bit of adversity. They battled back after dropping the opening set and didn’t look back, winning the match, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15.
Once again, Domek and Jackson helped the team pull through the adversity. The two combined for nine kills and a .750 attacking percentage in the second set.
It took just 61 minutes to defeat Howard 25-12, 25-12, 25-15 in the third match. The Bison really struggled on the offensive end as they finished with a .012 attacking percentage.
‘I wouldn’t say we breezed through the teams, but I did feel we were the better team when we played,’ Van De Walle said of the competition in the weekend’s tournament. ‘I like how together we played.’
Undefeated through the first three matches, BG would take the court for what was an expected tough match.
With the tournament championship right in front of them, the Falcons battled host Duquesne through five tough sets, and finally came out on top, 20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10.
Duquesne came out strong, beating the Falcons in the first two out of three sets. After a 9-4 early advantage for the Dukes, it seemed to be just about over for BG.
But they didn’t let the pressure of winning the championship get in their way as they scored seven of the next nine points to tie it all at 11. After another tie, this time at 14, the Falcons had had enough.
They went on an 11-5 scoring run, and won the set 25-19, sending the series to a deciding fifth match. After BG jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, Duquesne scored three consecutive points to tie the score.
With an 11, 9 advantage, the Falcons decided it was time to come out strong. Domek, Emily Kauth and Allison Kearney posted three consecutive kills, which made it a challenge for the Dukes to make any sort of a comeback.
‘Winning the fifth set was one those wow moments,’ Van De Walle said. ‘We handled that situation very well. I was impressed with how steady we were in the Duquesne match. Duquesne is a very good team and they have a very good middle hitter that plays fast and hits the ball hard.’
Senior Shari Luther was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. She ended up with 42 kills, a .430 attacking percentage and 13 blocks.
Van De Walle was thrilled with her performance.
‘Shari is one of the most consistent people you’ll ever meet,’ she said. ‘We know exactly what we get with Luther every time she comes into the gym for practice and when she competes.
‘She is very low error and she finds a way to score. She had an amazing weekend.’
Jackson and Kearney were named to the all-tournament team. The Falcons will have nearly a week of rest before heading to the Radisson New Orleans Airport Privateer Invitational on Friday and Saturday.