Tommies Overtake Chargers
The St. Thomas University Women’s Volleyball team defeated the Crandall Chargers in three sets. After this win and their victory against the University of New Brunswick Saint John, the Tommies are now on a three-game winning streak.
So far, the Tommies tally five wins and three losses this season, sitting in fourth place in their league.
In the first set, the Tommies jumped to an early 5-0 lead, taking the set 25-12. The next two sets were more of the same for the Tommies as the Chargers had no answer for the Tommie attack.
STU made quick work of the Chargers as their defense gave up no more than 13 points each set. The Tommies swept the match, taking the next two sets 25-13 and 25-12.
For the Chargers, this is their first ever season. Tommies head coach, Don McKay was forced to strategize for this game with little information on the competition.
“All we could go by are the films we watched and is the information we gathered,” said McKay. “We knew they weren’t really strong but again, we don’t want to take a team for granted.”
Entering his seventh season as head coach, McKay sculpted his team to be an aggressive, defensive team that digs for every ball. This play was evident as they overwhelmed the Chargers all afternoon.
This game gave the chance for the whole team to get involved as opposed to playing the usual. starters.
“When the competition gets really strong, you have to play the ones you feel are going to be able to give you the best chance to succeed,” he said. “We were able to use lots of people and had a lot of success with it.”
After the game, awards were given to student athletes who succeeded on the court and in the classroom. This award gave more attention to the academic side of being a student athlete.
One of the recipients was Tommies Libero, Jenicca Jean. As a criminology and psychology major, Jean strives to succeed on and off the court.
This season marks Jean’s third year with the club. Time flies going from a rookie to an upper-year player, and the responsibility as a leader grows at the same time.
“I’ve had great older players who definitely took me under their wing,” said Jean. “I really want to be a person who takes those rookies and younger players under my wing.”
