The SFU Women’s Volleyball Team is now 2–0 in conference play after defeating Seattle Pacific three sets to two on Thursday, September 18, and Saint Martin’s University three sets to zero on Saturday, September 20. The latter game was action-packed, as the Clan won two close sets 25–23 and 28–26 before pulling away 25–14 to seal the victory.
In last Thursday’s victory, Christine Howlett (Delta, BC) and Devon May (Robert’s Creek, BC) led the attack with thunderous hits that the Seattle Pacific frontline were unable to handle. Howlett had 18 kills and six blocks, and May added 17 kills. In Saturday’s game, May led the way with 12 kills and four blocks.
Part of the reason the team was able to win such close games is due their pre-conference play experience in Hawaii. On the impact of this experience, head Coach Gina Schmidt stated that “it was very beneficial. We also did a team trip to Whistler earlier in our preseason, just to spend time together and get to know each other. [. . .] The biggest thing is we got some really great competitions there. Three of our four matches went to five sets, and what helped us on Thursday night was just those experiences of being in fifth sets and close games.
“Just the weekend before, we had a match against Hawaii Pacific that went 39–37 and 34–22. We’ve been in these long battles before and those experiences helped us on Thursday.”
The atmosphere at Thursday’s game was electric. There was a large group of shirtless football players with their chests painted who were chanting, singing, and stomping. Coach Schmidt described the atmosphere at home games: “We were lucky. It was our Red night and we had a good crowd on hand. It wasn’t a typical crowd; that group was the football team. Across the athletic department the teams try to support each other.
“We appreciated the support and the noise and we always have Cedric [who leads the chorus], a loyal SFU supporter of all sports who is always good for some energy in the gym.”
The Volleyball team is on the road its next four games with a match against Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho on Thursday, September 24. This is followed by Central Washington on Saturday the 26th and Western Washington on the 28th. The latter two games are really going to demonstrate how far the relatively inexperienced Clan have developed their team cohesion.
“We play two of the teams picked to finish at the top of the conference,” Coach Schmidt noted. “Last year we did a good job of beating all the teams below us but we couldn’t get over the hump against the three above us including Western Washington who we have not beat in my time here. One of my goals is to get over the hump against some of those teams. Central Washington we split with last year, but they are strong and have the exact same team coming back. We lost five starters [. . .] we have a solid core of returners but not who have played together a ton.
“The question is how fast we can gel together as a team.”
