by Malika Andrews |
A team that showed promise in the preseason is dwindling. Beat down from injury, the once commanding volleyball team doesn’t seem to have the energy to finish what they started. Where their preseason broke the record for the best start in program history, the team finds themselves back to where they were last year: with only one win in WCC play. This is not where they want to be entering the harder half of their conference schedule.
Last year, the sole win came against San Francisco in the Chiles Center. This year, USF swept the Pilots in the Bay Area.
Several key players have suffered tweaks, bumps and bruises that have made a noticeable impact on the court. Junior middle blocker Katie Sullivan returned from an ankle injury that sidelined her out for eight matches. Now she is just starting to land on both feet in the game, unafraid that one wrong move will put her out of the game.
While Sullivan was out, junior Makayla Lindburg started at middle blocker. Lindburg had surgery on her right shoulder in December of 2014. She is still unable to swing with full force consistently.
Powerhouse senior Emily Liger tweaked her back. This was most noticeable in the match against Santa Clara on Oct. 1. Liger usually averages 4.8 kills per set, but she only recorded seven kills on the match with a .053 hitting percentage.
Various players including Portland’s only setter Djurdjina Milovic have suffered from colds. They spend more time practicing than any other team, they hit the ground hard and it’s evident. Milovic is the only setter for Portland after freshman Jocelyn Peterson chose to leave the team earlier this month.
In their last match on Saturday, the 25-10 loss in set two was the worst loss Portland has suffered all season. The team hit an abysmal .083 on the match.
Assistant coach Dan Matthews said that the team doesn’t define success in terms of wins and losses. Instead, they choose to focus on if they are improving. In that regard, he says the team has been successful.
“We are very explicit in trying to define success,” Matthews said. “It’s not reflected right now, but the fact is we are working really hard. We might be broken down a little bit in terms of how their bodies feel, but mentally I don’t see a lot of negative signs.”
With 12 matches left in conference, and some of the hardest matches still ahead of them, Portland has a lot of work ahead. Tomorrow, The Pilots then take on San Diego (5-1) on the road. While the Torreros aren’t ranked, in the AVCA Coaches Poll they received 41 votes.
They then face No. 13 BYU. The last six times the Pilots and Cougars met, the Cougars have swept the match. Since BYU joined the conference in 2011, Portland has won only one set against the team.
Malika Andrews is the sports editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews.
