Volleyball gets swept up in Maryland
“It was downhill from the get-go,” said head coach Stephanie Benkowski.
The Waynesburg University volleyball team had a tough weekend in Frostburg, Maryland, as the team went 0-4 at the Frostburg State University Tournament against four non-conference opponents.
On Friday, the Yellow Jackets faced Washington College (Maryland) and fell 3-0, with set scores of 25-11, 25-19, 25-21. The Jackets played better with each set, but were still unable to pull out a win. Team leaders for Waynesburg were juniors Kourtney Skinner and Jessica Dorazio, along with sophomore captain Morgan Newbauer. Skinner led the team with seven kills, while Dorazio recorded 18 digs. Newbauer led the team with 13 assists.
In the second match on Friday, the Yellow Jackets fell 3-1 to the University of Rochester. After losing the first set 25-12, Waynesburg rallied to win set two by three points 25-22. Rochester came back and claimed the third set by a margin of 10 points, by a score of 25-15. It looked as if Waynesburg was pushing towards a fifth set, however, the Jackets fell short in the fourth by three points. Skinner led the offense in kills with nine. Despite the loss, Newbauer showed a strong effort by recording a double-double, with 20 assists and 11 digs. Once again, Dorazio led the team in digs with 16.
On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets went up against host Frostburg State and La Roche College. In preparation for Saturday’s matches, Newbauer said the team made a few different line-up changes and had a different rotation going into it.
In the first set against Frostburg, the Jackets kept it close, but couldn’t pull out the win, losing the first set 25-18. The Jackets continued to struggle, losing the next two sets by the scores of 25-13 and 25-9, thus falling to the Bobcats 3-0. Claiming team-high kills were sophomore middle hitters Rachel Lang and Shannon Morgan, as well as Kourtney Skinner, with five each. Newbauer continued to lead the team with 17 assists. Dorazio continued to be a team leader, recording 16 digs against Frostburg State.
The Yellow Jackets’ second opponent of the day was La Roche College. The Jackets battled hard but fell to La Roche in five sets. Waynesburg came out strong in the first set winning 25-17. La Roche took the next two sets at 25-16 and 25-21. With a win in the fourth set by the Yellow Jackets by a score of 25-20, they forced a fifth set. However, the Jackets fell just short in the final set, losing just 17-15. Even though the Jackets lost the match and ultimately every game of the tournament, Newbauer believes the team showed their best performance against the Redhawks, which should help them moving forward.
“We didn’t come out with a win, but that was the game that we went the five games,” said Newbauer. “That was our best match.”
Despite their disappointment in the tournament, the Jackets look to rebound as they move forward in the season. Benkowski is hopeful for the team’s future.
“We are a very young team, and yes, I do think that means that we’re going to build from what we have and we will get better,” said Benkowski. “It’s just we’ve got to figure out how to get over that hump.”
Waynesburg’s overall record dropped to 3-10 after the Frostburg State tournament. After kicking off Presidents’ Athletic Conference play on the road against Chatham and Westminster last night, the Yellow Jackets will square off against Geneva and Grove City Saturday at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Start times for the matches are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.