The SFU Clan women’s volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking decision to Concordia University of Oregon this Saturday three sets to two. The loss moved their record to 8–8 on the season with a 4–4 conference record.
The Clan won an entertaining first set 25–23. In the second set, SFU powered to a 25–16 decision. In the third set, Concordia’s free player suffered a devastating separated shoulder. The Clan then built a 12–6 lead, which prompted a Concordia timeout. This was the turning point of the match. Following the timeout, the visitors won 11 of the next 14 points to take a 17–15 lead.
What ensued were some of the most dramatic plays of the evening as SFU sought to close out the match and Concordia battled to stay alive. After a long rally, SFU won a point to pull even at 24–24. They then fell down 25–24 before number eight Emma Jennings’ front row hit landed just inbounds to square the score at 25. The Clan then scored again and had a chance to serve for the win at 26–25. However, they yielded three straight points to send the game to a fourth set.
The fourth set was so tight that no team was able to take a two-point lead until Concordia edged ahead 23–21, which translated to a 25–23 victory for the visitors. Number nine Christine Howlett and number 21 Tessa May both made several spectacular plays in the fourth set’s furious action.
In the fifth set, the Clan fell down 9–1 before rallying to close the gap to 13–9. However, after a very long rally on the final point, Concordia emerged with a 15–9 victory and a 3–2 set advantage to win the match. The fifth set saw sixth Danielle Curtis make a spectacular diving dig to save a point, and number three Jessica Young convert three front line hits for points, which included an emphatic display of emotion after a long rally.
Coach Gina Schmidt discussed the pivotal third set: “We seemed to lose focus with the big lead and eventually allowed them back into the match with too many hitting errors on our side.” Regarding team play, Coach Schmidt remarked that “our group [is] coming together quite nicely, especially considering some of the lineup adjustments we’ve had to make because of injuries. I hope the people in the crowd saw a team that enjoys playing together and is fun to watch.”
The Clan head to Alaska for a match on Thursday and again on Saturday against Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage. Coach Schmidt said the team is hoping for better weather than last year’s Alaska trip, which was in mid-November and saw temperatures dip below -20 degrees celsius. Coach added, “our girls always enjoy the trip to Alaska. There are a couple of restaurants in Anchorage that our team loves and, just outside of Fairbanks there is a Santa Claus house with reindeer and all sorts of souvenirs.”
