By Dominic Rapposelli
Business and Distribution Manager
Washington College women’s volleyball took the court in their home territory for the first time this season. They played a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 17 against St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Notre Dame College of Maryland.
Entering the tri-match, the Shorewomen entered at 1-7 before picking up their pair of three set victories. Sophomore Giselle Kleinbussink added that the team’s attitude and practice contributed to their positive momentum.
“Our energy on and off the court was great, which contributed to our momentum in both games,” Kleinbussink said. “These past couple of weeks our team has been focusing on things we can control, our energy on the court and minimizing errors.”
According to senior Jordan Fairchild, the team’s culture is based on positivity. Maintaining an upbeat attitude is what can give this group the confidence moving into Centennial Conference play.
The team was firing on all cylinders in their games, playing at noon and 4 p.m. A good rotation of contributors gave WC an opportunity to gain a huge lead, maintaining their leads from set to set.
One contributor was sophomore Chelsea Elliott, who had her third consecutive game of five plus kills. She had five kills in the first matchup against the Seahawks while totaling eight in the matchup versus the Gators.
“It’s electric to be making plays like we did this weekend in front of the people we know on our home court,” Elliott said.
Kleinbussink also notched a team high of 12 kills in the game against St. Mary’s, while also adding a pair of aces and assists to her ledger. Her performance earned her Shorewomen player of the game in the first matchup.
“We’ve been very intentional in practice, it’s great to see the results of our effort on the court,” Kleinbussink said.
In the second matchup against Notre Dame, Fairchild tallied her season-high nine aces in the three-set victory en route to her own Shorewoman of the Game performance.
“One of the best ways to propel our team to a win is by serving, so I’m happy I was able to have a positive impact on our win with my serves,” Fairchild said.
With the Shorewomen putting themselves back on track, the team is looking to use this as a stepping off point with a long season ahead and conference play beginning Sept. 30 against Franklin and Marshall. “It feels like we have this foundation set for the rest of the season now,” said Elliott.
The 3-7 Shorewomen continue their season at Neuman University on Sept 20 before returning home Saturday, Sept. 23 for another tri-match against Rutgers University – Camden and Trinity College.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics
Photo Caption: Sophomore outside hitter Giselle Kleinbussink serves the ball to her opponent.