Women’s Volleyball player 16 junior Alexis Shaw hits at game against EMU.
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Women’s Volleyball won a home tournament 4-0; Emma Claytor won ODAC Defensive Player of the Week, the first ever awarded
Once again, the Women’s Volleyball team opened their season with a successful run. The team won the first four games of the season in front of a healthy home crowd at the Marlin Invitational. In the ODAC preseason poll, the Marlins stood atop the competitive rankings. After week one concluded, the Marlins dominance was recognized by sweeping the ODAC awards for Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
Senior Hannah Smith was named ODAC Offensive Player of the Week, leading Virginia Wesleyan’s attack across their first slate of games. She led the team with 55 total kills during the Marlin Invitational, as well as three aces against No. 22 ranked opponent, University of Mary Washington.
“[We] used the same [offensive strategy] that we did last year. Mixing up who we’re giving the ball to. We can have more of an open net to hit on. We did a pretty good job on that,” Smith said.
After earning her award and the team’s top ODAC Ranking, Smith expects nothing but success this season.
“I expect to win the ODAC. I always set high expectations. Last year we weren’t ranked number one and we didn’t win, so I’m hoping that we win,” Smith said.
Graduate student Emma Claytor earned the ODAC Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Marlin Invitational, tallying 20 total blocks and nine digs. She credited her offseason training for the strong performance. This was the first time that the ODAC had awarded a Defensive Player of the Week in Women’s Volleyball. Previously, there had only been an Offensive Player of the Week.
“I was just more consistent, going to open gyms. I played a lot more volleyball over the summer,” Claytor said.
Claytor’s performance played a key role in the team’s defensive front, especially after the recent injury of the team’s libero, Maddie Haynes, rendered a hole in the team’s defensive gameplan.
“We had a lot of people step up to fill that role. [Jada] took on a big responsibility, changing positions. She was an outside [blocker] and then she played libero. We were able to have Maddie for half, they split time,” Claytor said.
Head Coach, Karissa Cumberbatch, also commented on team efforts in the absence of a libero.
“Jada has done an amazing job, she’s an outside. Kudos to the coaching staff for recruiting outsides who are really good ‘six rotation’ players. We’ve had a couple of new incoming people, Jada being one, Alina being another, that are playing out of position. And Kendall Abercrombie is too, it just makes our practices more competitive,” Cumberbatch said.
Cumberbatch went on to describe the team’s expectations coming into the new season, after last year’s loss in the ODAC Tournament.
“Over the last several years, we’ve had the same expectations for ourselves. We’ve been really successful for a while and had some regional recognition. Obviously, I think it’s a little bit of pressure, we graduated a lot of leadership, and we have some new kids trying to step into those leadership roles. I think that first weekend was a lot to prepare for. We have not necessarily been healthy through preseason. The fact that we came out and got four wins definitely gave us the confidence we needed and we are right where we need to be,” Cumberbatch said.
One of the Marlins early wins this season was against the No. 22 nationally ranked University of Mary Washington on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Marlin Invitational.
“It meant a lot. We needed to realize how talented we still are. I think that any win over any ranked opponent anytime in the season means a lot and gives your team confidence. It showed us that we are capable of competing at a really high level, and we can win just like we always have,” Cumberbatch said.
Building confidence has been a key factor for this team to start the season. This was amplified by sweeping the weekly conference awards. “It was awesome that we were able to sweep and be the first team to do that. And for Emma to be the first player to get that recognition is awesome. I think we got that number one vote in the preseason poll. So the fact that we came out and earned those two honors back to back, I think just helps build confidence in the team in general. It’s always nice to be recognized publicly for your success,” Cumberbatch said.
The team continued their dominance the following week, winning both matches against Haverford College and Messiah University, despite missing their defensive leader, Claytor, who suffered an injury prior to the match against Haverford.
Their first conference game was Wednesday, Sept. 11 in Townebank Arena against Eastern Mennonite University, where they also won three sets to zero. Their most recent outing was the Franklin and Marshall Quad on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14.
Their first match was against Franklin and Marshall College, in which they fell to the Diplomats in the fifth set, recording their first loss of the season. The Marlins bounced back in the following matches, defeating Montclair State University in four sets and sweeping Clarkson University in three sets.
The program’s next match is Friday Sept. 20 against conference opponent Roanoke College.
By: Crosson Miller
lcmiller@vwu.edu