Wheaton's volleyball team on the rise this season
Chuck Platt '10
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Sports
So far this fall Wheaton has had a flat-out dominating women's volleyball team.
These women were 8-1 after last Tuesday's home-opening sweep of WPI.
That victory, earned before the halfway mark of September, means they have already doubled their win total from last year.
Two days after WPI, they went to Emmanuel. This match looked to be one of their tougher contests of the year-taking on a difficult non-conference opponent at their
place.
But, they went right in to the Yawkey center and swept Emmanuel. When, in the name of Mary Lyon, did Wheaton suddenly become a volleyball powerhouse?
This is their best start since 1991! Second-year head coach Ben Read says, "I knew we had the potential…but you can never
be sure how well the team will come together."
Without a single senior, they are led by captains Liana Merrill '09 and Sarah Oster '09. The high-level of play turned in by this year's freshmen has been particularly impressive.
With a team of five returning players from last year, Read brought in seven freshmen with his first recruiting class. He remarked they have been "trained very well by their previous coaches."
Setter Becca Rose '11 earned NEWMAC Player of the Week honors for the week ending
September 9.
"[Becca] has been able to get everyone involved on the team," said Coach Read. This kind of allaround involvement translates in to great team cohesiveness.
Read further endorsed this notion saying, "Our team's success can be attributed to our over all ball control. Right now we have no one individual that will win or lose a match for us, so our wins have come from an entire team effort."
"We are all really excited about this season. I think the big turnaround has been the team chemistry," added Co-captain Merrill. Coach Read adds that this squad's unique make-up (no seniors and heavy on freshmen) has played a big part in the strength of the team, both on and off the court.
These women were 8-1 after last Tuesday's home-opening sweep of WPI.
That victory, earned before the halfway mark of September, means they have already doubled their win total from last year.
Two days after WPI, they went to Emmanuel. This match looked to be one of their tougher contests of the year-taking on a difficult non-conference opponent at their
place.
But, they went right in to the Yawkey center and swept Emmanuel. When, in the name of Mary Lyon, did Wheaton suddenly become a volleyball powerhouse?
This is their best start since 1991! Second-year head coach Ben Read says, "I knew we had the potential…but you can never
be sure how well the team will come together."
Without a single senior, they are led by captains Liana Merrill '09 and Sarah Oster '09. The high-level of play turned in by this year's freshmen has been particularly impressive.
With a team of five returning players from last year, Read brought in seven freshmen with his first recruiting class. He remarked they have been "trained very well by their previous coaches."
Setter Becca Rose '11 earned NEWMAC Player of the Week honors for the week ending
September 9.
"[Becca] has been able to get everyone involved on the team," said Coach Read. This kind of allaround involvement translates in to great team cohesiveness.
Read further endorsed this notion saying, "Our team's success can be attributed to our over all ball control. Right now we have no one individual that will win or lose a match for us, so our wins have come from an entire team effort."
"We are all really excited about this season. I think the big turnaround has been the team chemistry," added Co-captain Merrill. Coach Read adds that this squad's unique make-up (no seniors and heavy on freshmen) has played a big part in the strength of the team, both on and off the court.
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