On Saturday night, the Simon Fraser volleyball team lost their first game of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) season to Seattle Pacific by a score of three sets to one. After a fantastic first set, the Clan seemed to lose all momentum, losing the next three sets on their way to their first loss of the season.
A tight first set went to the home team, as SFU broke away from SPU to win 25–20. Betsie de Beer came up huge in the set, getting the last three kills (and points) for her team. At this point, things were looking great for the Clan, but they weren’t able to keep the momentum going into the second set.
SFU would go on to lose the next three sets 25–21, 25–18, and 28–26. The fourth set in particular was especially heartbreaking, as SFU had multiple chances to win the set before SPU got the win.
But what changed? This is what head coach Gina Schmidt had to say when interviewed by The Peak post-game:
“After we got blocked a few times we got a bit tentative. After the first set we were scoring well and they made some adjustments — their libero played great — and we didn’t find enough ways to score.” She added, “I think we let up on our serving and let them get into a rhythm offensively. They also started to serve tougher and our passing wasn’t where it needed to be and that made it harder for us to run our offense.”
Every loss is disappointing, but this one hurts especially because the Clan were favourited and had home court advantage. Coming into the season, SFU was predicted to finish third in the GNAC, while SPU was predicted to finish sixth.
As per usual, the crowd was great for the team, constantly cheering and bantering for their side.
“We love playing at home, and I know our team gets energy from the crowd [ . . . ] I just wish we could’ve given them a win,” said Schmidt.
Peak player of the game: Tessa May
May had a fantastic game in this one, leading the Clan and tying for first with 15 kills on an incredible .462 percentage. She also added in one individual block and two block assists, finishing the match with 17 points.
What’s next:
SFU will now hit the road and face Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington on September 13. It will be a tough match for the Clan, as Central Washington has gotten off to a hot start: they are 2–0 in the GNAC and 8–1 overall. The game starts at 7 p.m.
