By: Noah Nunez
General Reporter
The Owls found themselves the victors of a close game as the Women’s Volleyball team defeated Saint Anselm College, going 3-1 on Friday, October 2.
The volleyball game was a part of a celebration for faculty and staff, who were invited to come and watch the game to support the players, which ended up being a big help for middle blocker Sarah Stark, a senior.
“It was amazing knowing that they’re all here to support us, and we could honor them tonight. It brought the game a lot more energy tonight,” Stark said.
Going into the match, the Owls were confident in their abilities even with the pressure of this being their first conference game, with the crowd full of faculty, and their previous game going to five sets.
Outside hitter Kerrigan Habing, a junior, was excited going into this match, recognizing the skill of Anselm but still ready to take them on.
“We felt good coming off the AIC match; we went to five with them, but we had a lot of energy, and we were pretty consistent, so we felt pretty confident coming in,” Habing said.
The game started out rough for the Owls, losing the first set to a number of errors on their part, allowing Anselm to take over.
Quickly after this early loss, the Owls began to take over the game, with Head Coach Lisa Barbaro believing the early game was what led the Owls to find their groove in the match and begin their domination.
“But really, we were just finding our rhythm,” Barbaro said. “I think once we kind of found that and started to connect and play, it all came together.”
Tensions rose in the last minutes of the game as the Owls found themselves battling back and forth with Anselm for the game, with a tie that lasted; the Owls pulled through, closing the set 29-27
“I think we started a little bit slow, but I think the second set we started to control what we could control and it helped,” Habing said. “I think that helps a lot and also our energy picked up a lot towards the end.”
A climatic and satisfying win for the Owls is exactly what the staff and faculty who support these players in their education deserve with their appearance.
This positive attitude extended to Barbaro as well, who was ecstatic at the support they received and being able to get their hard work in the faces of more people.
“So great to finally have faculty and staff be able to come here and just be in our space and be able to see what we do every day. They work hard and our athletes work hard too, and it was just great to have us in a different space other than the classroom,” Barbaro said.
