Volleyball sheds tears vs. AIC

By Dillon Flanigan

Sports Editor

As the sun fell on Friday, Nov. 8, two volleyball veterans were being celebrated in a touching scene.

In a 3-0 defeat from the American International College, the senior night ceremony took center stage, bringing many powerful tears. Setter Lily Miller, a senior, and outside hitter Raegen Emery, a graduate, were both visibly choked up.

“It was an emotional night. I thought I was going to be fine until I saw my parents walk in,” Emery said. “I never thought it would end. This has been my life as long as I can remember.”

The waterworks were palpable for all who bore witness to the heartwarming interactions with their families and friends in the crowd.

“I cannot be prouder of the effort and then showing up. We just put it all out there,” Head Coach Lisa Barbaro said. “Lily, assist-wise today, she showed up and had the most assists for us and led us there.”

With 13 in the game for Miller, she added to her total with 251 on the season, followed by setter Madi Roar, a sophomore, with nine.

Preparing for this game did not come easy, as two of their starters; middle blocker Sarah Stark and outside hitter Victoria Pascual, sophomores, suffered season-ending injuries, forcing the Owls to reshuffle their lineup.

“We really had to pull people that have never played that position before,” Barbaro said. “Julia really stepped up for us today. She’s adjusting. It’s a tough spot to be in. I just think she did a great job just learning as she went the last couple practices and then putting it into action today.”

As the Owls hit the floor, they met with a familiar foe in outside hitter Carissa Michel, a sophomore, who had eight kills on the night. Michel transferred from the university in which, as a freshman, her playing time drastically increased down the stretch.

Though with a mostly new group of Owls on senior night, the result did not seem to matter. In fact, facing the Yellow Jackets who were sitting atop the NE10 conference at 7-0, now 8-0, did not seem to mean much compared to the rollercoaster of emotions.

It was emotional, and it was turned into fuel for the Owls who started the first and second set with early leads. However, they bled from a combination of wounds that have been plaguing them all year.

Losing can be disappointing, especially with a team that has had a tale of two seasons in one.

“There’s a team that has a lot of potential, and it’s frustrating to not be able to finish,” outside hitter Isabel Alvarez, a freshman, said. “I feel like the people that had to step up on those roles brought our team together and made us learn how to work better together.”

Alvarez finished with one block, seven digs and five kills on 22 attempts, who was bested by Emery, who had one service ace, 11 digs and nine kills on 26 attempts.

Emery said, “I had an off night. I don’t think I played my best. I don’t know if I was able to recover from my emotions. I’m proud of these girls. We’ve gone through a lot just this past week. I think we played well given the circumstances.”