“Of course, we’re not going to win every game we ever play, but [the Chapman game] was not a one-off; this is just how we play good volleyball,” Foster said.
Foster said the team brings dedication and joy to every practice, which is what sets them up for success.
“Practices are so fun, and we get to be together, run around, see people make changes and get better at things they’ve been working on,” Foster said. “I’ve been a part of programs that have been incredibly successful, but when practices are more or equally as fun as a game, that’s when really special things happen.”
Captain and outside hitter Ariana Carranza (senior) said the Chapman match-up was her first home game back after injury. According to Carranza, the team lost to Chapman in pre-season play, which left them hungry and ready for a win.
“We’re totally capable,” Carranza said. “We’ve been working so hard in practice, there’s no excuse as to why we shouldn’t win.”
Carranza said the team relied on their practice and pre-game rituals heading into the first set against Chapman, such as their “fire-up,” to get hyped for the game. According to outside hitter Jasmine Shum (first year), the “fire-up” is a pre-game ritual where one teammate chooses a way to gather the team’s energy, before they have a quick dance party to get hype and warm up.
According to Shum, mindset is a big part of volleyball.
“I think that we were locked in, but we were still very hype,” Shum said. “That’s also what helped our team a lot, just being happy no matter the score. [Regardless of] if we’re up or down, we’re still all supportive and we [had] good energy the whole game.”
After dropping the first set against Chapman, Carranza said the team had to rely on their positive energy and the fans in Rush Gymnasium to support them as they won the second and third sets. Carranza said she credits Foster and her coaching style with the improvement she has seen in the team.
“What’s so amazing now is that our mentality is: we know we can win this, and we know what we can do,” Carranza said. “[I saw] that switch happen because of [Foster] and the girls she’s brought to the team, [as well as] her coaching skills and the assistants […] We have developed such a big and important group of people, and I think that right now [the team] is the strongest it’s ever been.”
Foster said her coaching style is built on helping her players find their individual purposes and bringing love to every single thing they do.
“Love is more than just the gushy ‘I love you,’” Foster said. “Of course it’s important that we all love each other, but it’s loving our game, loving our teammates, our school […] [loving] wearing a Tigers jersey.”
Coming into the fourth set with the Tigers up 2–1, Carranza said the team started to get a little tired.
“We were pouring our hearts out, throwing ourselves on the floor, hitting balls, having these long rallies,” Carranza said. “They ended up taking that [set] off of us, and we were right there. [That] was the most sets we’ve ever taken off of Chapman […] we did not work [that] hard to just go and lose [the] last set.”
Foster said the mentality going into the fifth set was built on confidence and trust, which allowed the team to be stable throughout the set. According to Carranza, the fifth set is first to 15 points — meaning the team had no room for error. Carranza said she could really feel the fans’ energy supporting the Tigers.
“I think fans don’t realize how much they help,” Carranza said. “I know some of them come for their own entertainment or because they’re bored on a Saturday and they don’t know what to do, but they help so much.”
With the encouragement from their fans behind them, Carranza said the team fought hard for to win the fifth set, and with that set, the overall victory over Chapman.
“We built up the momentum,” Carranza said. “We were so good skill-wise and technically, and there was so much communication on the court. Literally everything we did was 100 percent.”
After winning, Carranza said she shared an emotional moment with her teammate Eliana Channel (senior).
“It may seem dramatic, but we were literally bawling because it was the first game that we actually had won in so long and felt like we deserved,” Carranza said.
Shum said she is excited for the rest of her first SCIAC season.
“We’re going to need a lot of grit, and I know that it’s not going to be easy because we are playing some of the toughest teams in the country,” Shum said. “[…] I think it’s going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of believing in each other and trusting in our teammates, which I think that we have.”
According to Carranza, she saw that trust on the court during the Chapman game, along with the love and purpose Foster leads with.
“There was just so much love and support and care and passion in that gym that day,” Carranza said. “It was such a good momentum starter, especially because we’ve had such a negative mentality in the past. We just had our first taste of a really important win, and I think that was really what we needed to start off SCIAC.”
Contact Nora Youngelson at youngelson@oxy.edu
