Volleyball team needs to dig deep for rest of season

After graduating five seniors last spring, and losing two seniors to injuries this year, the Norwich women's volleyball team has to overcome many adversities this season, according to the captain, Brittany Palmer.

"We don't really know what to expect from this season," said Ivana Batur, 21, a senior psychology major from Croatia. "Sometimes we play really good and sometimes we play bad, it doesn't matter who we play."

The team is good enough to beat any opponent it faces this year, but the players must not beat themselves.

"Recent games have been pretty inconsistent, we play really well and we're really strong in some areas and then we are a completely different team the next set," said MaryRose Meany, 20, a junior nursing major from Goshen, N.Y.

The team needs to conquer its lack of consistency.

"Our team is a rollercoaster right now we either do well or bad, and we are not consistent. We have a lot of talent on the team and if we communicate more and come together we can win a lot of games," said Gabrielle Miller, 20, a junior biology major from Grove City, Ohio.

With a 3-2 record in conference, and a 8-6 record out of conference, the team sits in fifth place.

One area for improvement is coming out strong right from the start.

"We have an issue getting started in games where we need to get the momentum much quicker," said Haley Vermes, 20, a junior civil engineering major from Westborough, Mass.

"We don't have energy starting out so the first match is rough, and then we really pick it up in the second match," said Vermes.

As a young team with many new faces, it takes a long time to get used to each other as teammates and to improve on all skills. "We definitely need to work on our defense," said Batur.

Meany agreed. "We need to work on our service eve, and communicating with the setter."

"We need to work on passing because we lost our Libero due to a meniscus injury," Meany said. The (Libero) in volleyball is a defensive specialist who helps create  passing opportunities for the team.

Another thing the Cadets have to work on is communicating throughout the game.

"We need more communication by getting more excited and wanting to win instead of going through the motions," said Miller.

Getting excited after winning a point and communicating that excitement with each other will help the women by building confidence.

"It is hard to say if we are better than the team last year," said Batur. "But if we can find a middle ground and be consistent we have a good chance to be better than last year."

"It is really hard to get used to losing five seniors, I played with them for two years, and they were all really good, but the freshmen are all stepping up to the plate which is really good," said Meany.

"We have a good incoming class with the entire freshman," said Batur. "They are good athletes and they will definitely help us out a lot this year."

The team is focused on playoffs.

"I think we have a good shot at making playoffs. There is a lot of potential on the team, it is just a matter of harnessing everyone's potential, pushing ourselves more than we ever have, and working out the little kinks that hold us back sometimes," said Alex Palmer, 18, a freshman bio/pre-med major from South Windsor, Conn.

"I think we can win the conference, which will take us to playoffs," said Miller. "We are strong enough to do it, and we are going to do it."

 "I love being a part of the volleyball team at Norwich. I could go on forever talking about how amazing all the girls are and our coach," said Meany. "We are all really close, and it shows when we play on the court."