The Lady Lions volleyball team (9-16) struggled back and forth between set wins against Incarnate Word, but ultimately declared victory in the five-set match 23-25, 26-24, 13-25, 25-18, 15-13.
The game took place Saturday, Oct. 26, bringing the Lady Lions a new crowd in the audience as Lady Lion alumni were invited to attend during the Volleyball Reunion Reception.
“There’s a lot of players, I think most of them are from the 90s, who have come back,” said head coach Jim Smoot. “I think it’s pretty exciting to get to see the team, find out what we’re trying to accomplish here at the program, and they get to hang out with each other, old friends.”
The Volleyball Reunion allowed alumni to witness a heated game, both teams taking the victory back and forth with each set, allowing for an unpredictable conclusion in the fifth set. The Lady Lions themselves were unpredictable, the first two sets resulting in close matches, dramatically losing in the third set, amping up the game play in the fourth set and closing the game with a win.
The game lent the Lady Lions their second consecutive win in the conference, a shift from the rough season the team has seen so far. Though the Lady Lions came out on top, sophomore setter Mikayla Shippy felt the need for further improvement in game play.
“I think we’re starting to figure out what it takes to win, but we’re still a little inconsistent,” said Shippy. “I think we played really hard when we knew we had to, but the goal is to play hard all the time, 100 percent.”
Though Smoot admitted the team could use improvement, he expressed pride in both teams for playing their best and putting up a good fight.
“I thought both teams played well,” said Smoot. “They were really good. When we had our streaks that were not quite as good, we were really bad. But both teams battled, and that’s all you could ask. You can’t always expect them to perform to the top of their ability, but you can always expect them to give 100 percent effort, and both teams did that. That was fun to see.”
The Lady Lions will return to the court to face off against the New Orleans Privateers on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. in the University Center. For more information, visit lionsports.net.