Author: Alex Graves
The Occidental Women’s Volleyball team has had its share of ups and downs through 14 games. The team, consisting of 15 girls, has experienced its share of growing pains. With a roster consisting of no seniors and only three juniors, there has been a lack of consistency. As Nyki Dedic (junior) noted, “We are a very young team, and we struggle with inconsistency which comes when a team has never played together and works in a new system.”
However, despite this, the team has showed signs of resilience. In spite of a five game losing streak early in the season, the team rebounded by winning back to back SCIAC matches against Caltech and Whittier. A week later, they put together another two-game winning streak, defeating West Coast Baptist College in consecutive matches.
However, last Tuesday, the team took a step backwards with a disappointing 3-0 home loss to the University of Redlands. Since that loss, the team has dropped two more conference matches, to Pomona-Pitzer and the University of La Verne.
Under the leadership of Head Coach Mike Talamantes, players have noticed an emphasis on playing together and having fun as a team.
“Our coach has changed our practices to focus on our team. We are looking at our strengths and weaknesses to see how we can bring the most effective defense and offense to the court every match,” Gwynne Davis (first-year) said.
Dedic agreed, adding that “Coach Talamantes has had to be extremely patient.”
With two weeks left in the season, there are still four opportunities to watch the team play at Oxy. Despite a 5-9 overall record and a 2-8 mark in SCIAC play, the players recognize the importance of the remaining season. “I believe we have the ability to turn this program around in the next few years with this coach and these players,” Davis said. “In these last few weeks of the season, we are going to need to set the tone for next year and show the other teams in our conference that we are going to put up a fight.”
The Women’s Volleyball team will be playing home games this coming Thursday and Saturday.
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