BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Lady Blazers volleyball team dropped all three of their matches this weekend in the Lynn Invitational. Lynn, Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Lewis swept VSU, winning all three sets in each match respectively.
Although they fell short in every encounter, VSU’s first two outings of the tournament were moderately close. Against Lynn, the Lady Blazers struggled offensively. Irene Hannan had 13 kills, the only Lady Blazer with double digits in that category. VSU finished that match losing the first two sets 25-21 and 25-19, before forcing extra points in the third frame, which yielded a 27-25 score.
The match against Lewis proved to be more difficult, as they were ranked No. 16 (now No. 14 this week) in Division II. Although Ruthie King managed to put out nine kills and a .333 attack percentage, VSU fell 25-18, 25-16, and 25-15 in each set respectively.
“We just looked tired,” Sia Poyer, head coach, said. “The girls were a little down after the last match, but they’re competitive and there’s a lot of talent and pride on our team. ”
The Lady Blazers will look to bounce back this weekend in the USC-Aiken Invitational; they will go head-to-head with Concord, Lander, Anderson, and USC-Aiken.
“We were really down at the end of the [Lynn Invitational] after dropping our first three,” Katie Onushko, the sophomore who shared the only block in the Lewis match, said. “We’ve got to think high though because we know we’ll come back. It’s easy to build off of a tournament like that.”
VSU will be the only team in the field without a victory this season. Poyer thinks this needs to change, especially with the highly anticipated home opener Tuesday against Armstrong-Atlantic.
“I hope we have momentum going into the home-opener, but it all depends on how this weekend goes,” Poyer said. “If we’re not on cloud nine, hopefully we’re close to it. Some of these teams are in the same position we are need a win just as bad as we do. They’re not going to just sit there, we need to go out and earn it.”
Armstrong has looked impressive thus far in 2010, riding a four-match winning streak after dropping their season-opener. Onushko believes it will be key to sealing a victory Tuesday, especially since home matches in Valdosta are rare.
“Winning Tuesday in front of the home crowd will be huge,” Onushko said. “There’s something about playing at home that is great. We need to get this win out of the way so it doesn’t linger until next month when we come back.”
Following Tuesday’s match, the Lady Blazers will play in front of a home crowd on Oct. 15, when they host the Wingate by Wyndham Crossover Classic.