It was another up-and-down week for SFU’s volleyball team, as the Clan returned home, winning one game and losing another in West Gym. The win, however, was the Clan’s fifth of the season, marking the team’s highest win total since entering the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The record-setting victory came at the expense of the Saint Martin’s University Saints, in what was a very one-sided affair. The Clan narrowly took the first set 25–21, before blowing out the Saints over the final two, 25–13 and 25–15.
Junior middle Madeline Hait led the Clan attack, recording 14 kills, though fellow junior Kelsey Robinson wasn’t far behind with 11. Robinson also led the team with 17 digs, but had help on defense, as Alanna Chan and promising freshman Alison McKay each had 13.
The straight-set victory was one of the Clan’s best of the season.
“I think this game we executed individually and executed well as a team too,” said Hait after the match. “Our offence and defence both played well. We’ve been working a lot on defending and turning saves into kills and I think that showed tonight.”
The win pulled the Clan’s overall record above .500 to 10–9, and their conference record to 5–8. That was until their next game against Western Oregon.
It’s been a running theme for the Clan this season to win one game and drop the next, and the trend continued against the Wolves.
That’s not to say it wasn’t close — it was as close a game as one could hope for. The Wolves took the first set 21–25, before SFU stormed back to take the next two, 25–22 and 25–23, but couldn’t close out Western Oregon in either the fourth or fifth sets, dropping them 23–25 and 12–15, respectively, ultimately falling in five close sets.
“I thought both teams were equally skilled and competitive on the floor but, that in the end, it came down to the fine details,” said sophomore defensive specialist Helen Yan post-game. “Looking forward now, we are going to need to execute as well as we can and close this season on a high note.”
With the loss dropping the conference record to 5–9, the Clan will have to win their final four games to finish with an even record, a tough task for a developing team. But as evidenced by their best-ever fifth win of the year, and even in the close game against Western Oregon, SFU is playing some of its best volleyball in years.
