Luke Gadson – Sports Editor
In their first conference game of the season, the Owls were definitely looking for a win after going 2-3 before conference play began. Teamwork was the key factor that Head Coach Lisa Barbaro wanted her team to focus on going into this game. Their focus was displayed as the Owls cruised to a 3-0 victory against St. Anslem, winning the sets by scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-19.
“I think today was a great team effort, I think the key today was really the pass serve game,” said Coach Barbaro. “So, I encouraged the girls to serve tough today, play with a lot of confidence, and to play together. And they did that,” Coach Barbaro continued. This tough and sharp teamwork definitely showed with several players filling up the stat sheet. Outside hitter, Kacey Deecher, a senior, led the way with nine kills and nine digs. Setter, Taylor Jones, a senior, displayed great passing, leading the team in assists with 12 and also tallying up eight digs. Outside hitter, Sara Enright, a senior, had an all-around game racking up eight kills, seven digs, two assists and one block.
Last year, the Owls fell to the Hawks in three straight sets. This gave the university some extra motivation to show St. Anslem that they were not the same team this year and had something to prove. “There was a lot of energy going into this game,” said outside hitter, Sara Enright, a senior. “I knew we definitely had it in us to beat them, especially coming back from last year. We have a whole new lineup this year, so it was exciting to see everyone on the floor tonight,” Enright continued. This energy was essential to keeping the Owls working together throughout the game. Libero, Aubrey Villena, a sophomore, stated, “I saw a lot of support. We helped each other on serves, and in between every point we were high fiving, talking to each other, and helping each other get out of our heads.”
Coach Lisa Barbaro also acknowledged how proud she was of how the team played despite having to introduce several new faces to the program going into this season. Traveling deeper into the season, the Owls want to focus on “being able to be mentally tough in tough situations and to push through,” as Coach Barbaro stated. “We’ve kind of struggled with that. I think we’ve had a little bit of nerves incorporating seven new people into our program. So, some people are stepping on the court for the first time in their collegiate careers,” Coach Barbaro continued.
The Owls have important conference games coming up, so the focus does not stop now. With their next three conference games being against Post University, Assumption University and The University of New Haven, they have some viable opponents up next. Although, this win against St. Anslem does set the Owls up very well for conference play, with them starting off with an in-conference record of 1-0.
“There’s a lot more to come,” Coach Barbaro said. “We’re just going to keep getting better every day.”