Luke Gadson – Sports Editor
Coming from a 3-0 victory, earlier in the day against Post University, the Owls were looking for the momentum to carry into their faceoff versus Assumption University later in the evening. The adrenaline did not seem to wear off as the Owls rolled past the Greyhounds with a hard-fought 3-1 victory. Each set was close in the margin, with Assumption University winning the first with a score of 25-18, and the Owls winning the following three sets with scores of 25-16, 25-21, and 25-17.
After a slow start and losing the first set to the Greyhounds, Head Coach, Lisa Barbaro, had to regroup her team and help them regain their focus. “Really, we just had to regroup. I think for us we just came out flat and were kind of beating ourselves,” Coach Barbaro said. “It was just a whole complete reset. We regained focus, we were making a lot of errors and mistakes, so we just kind of forgot about that one. We focused on what our gameplan was and getting ourselves set back up,” Coach Barbaro continued.
The Owls dominated in all categories Friday night, besting the Greyhounds in kills 47-32, blocks 10-1, aces 11-4, and assists 39-28. Outside hitter, Sara Enright, a senior, led the Owls to victory with an all-around display. She put together 15 kills, 4 aces, 1 block, and 8 digs in the win.
Enright has now racked up 120 kills and 25 aces on the season, leading her team in both categories. Also putting in a great effort offensively, was setter, Taylor Jones, a senior, and middle blocker, Kendall Webber, a freshman. Jones, leading her team in assists on the year with 235, tallied up 23 assists in Friday’s win over Assumption University. Webber was a force putting up 8 kills.
Defensively, libero, Aubrey Villena, a sophomore, was making plays all over the floor and finished with 23 digs, increasing her season total to a team-high 118 digs. Kendall Webber and outside hitter, Ahunna James, a freshman, both had 3 blocks to lead the Owls to victory.
As the Owls continue into their season, Head Coach, Lisa Barbaro, is seeing her team come together as one, more than ever. “We’ve been spending weeks now, trying different lineups and trying to connect as a team. We have seven new people that we’re trying to incorporate into our program, and we have returners that are now getting more playing time than they had in past years,” Coach Barbaro stated. The Owls’ compatibility with each other on the floor, despite the recent lineup changes, was also acknowledged by Coach Barbaro. “I was really pleased with our effort today in both matches. We finally started coming together as a team, we were able to rotate some new people into the lineup, and everybody, instead of playing timid, went out there with confidence. We executed the game plan very well,” Coach Barbaro explained.
The Owls’ win Friday night against Assumption University improved their overall record to 6-5. They look to increase their winning streak to three, with their match against Queens College on Saturday, Sept. 16.
