The SFU Women’s Volleyball team extended their winning streak to two games Thursday night, and put themselves over .500 with a win against the ninth-placed Western Oregon Wolves in their first game home after a four-game road trip.
“We did a good job of weathering the ups and downs,” said head coach Gina Schmidt. “Western Oregon made us earn all of our points.”
Clan setter Danielle Curtis opened the game’s scoring, giving SFU the head start. For much of the first set, SFU had the momentum on their side, with a six point lead at various occasions and one four point streak, before closing the set 25–20.
However, the second set was a much closer affair. For the first time in the game, the Wolves took the lead, and though the Clan at various points built up a sizable lead, the Wolves just kept coming back.
“I thought we could have cleaned up a few things offensively, there was a couple of times they strung a few points in our rotation, where we gave up some easy points on unforced errors,” explained Schmidt.
For a moment, the Wolves looked ready to take the second set, leading the Clan 23–20 and only two points away from splitting the series. A series of bad serves and errors in their own end, including surrendering the final point on an unforced error, gave the Clan the second set at a score of 26–24 — a commanding two-set lead.
The third set was the first in which SFU surrendered the first point. Unfortunately for the Wolves, and fortunately for the 105 Clan fans in attendance, they were plagued by the same problems — namely, a tendency to over-serve the ball and inaccuraty in their attack attempts.
The Clan then promptly took advantage to sweep the Wolves, claiming the final set with a score of 25–17.
It was a game where it seemed SFU might very well lose control, but every time the Wolves started gaining ground, the Clan were able to answer right back.
“We focus on one play at a time, the next pass, the next set, so I think that’s where you can’t get ahead of yourself,” said Schmidt.
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Madison Power led the team in kills with 14, while the defensive effort was split amongst the team with libero Alison McKay, Jessica Young, and Curtis combining for a total of 48 digs.
