The Women’s Volleyball team opened SUNYAC play last weekend with a 3-0 record, with wins over SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Fredonia.
With an overall record of 16-5, Head Coach Matt Giufre is proud of how his team has competed and how they’ve benefitted from playing difficult opponets to open the season.
“We’ve played a very strong schedule and our team improvement has been really good because of that,” Giufre said.
Second-year outside hitter Becca Borquist said the team played well in their first SUNYAC games, despite facing tough competition.
“The first day was a little rough at first, but obviously being the great team that we are, we managed to pull through,” she said. “The other two games we played really well and were two hard-fought matches.”
Fourth-year Captain Marissa King said playing difficult teams has allowed them team to become a steady unit and build chemistry.
“We obviously have our ups and downs like any regular team, but we are becoming more consistent and familiar with how each person plays and it really shows on the court,” she said.
King as well as her fourth-year co-Captain, Carrie Hack, have established how the team should play and act, Giufre said.
“They just set the tone for what’s expected in not only in terms of behavior, but work ethic and performance,” he said. “Their successful past gives them a lot of credibility.”
Borquist said being friends with King has allowed them to be on the same page come game time.
“We have a really great connection on and off the court,” Borquist said. “We have a great connection with her sets, which allow me to be able to do the work that I need to get done.”
King believes that being a good captain means that she’s on a two-way street with her teammates, she said.
“As a captain, I feel that I try to put people at ease and lead with my actions when the game gets rough, but I also take a step back at times when someone wants to step up because every good leader has to be a good follower too,” King said.
Giufre realized the importance of winning conference games because of how difficult the SUNYAC conference is, he said.
“Our conference is tough and everybody has been having some strange outcomes, including us,” Giufre said.
Borquist has been named the SUNYAC Volleyball Player of the Week twice and ECAC Metro/Upstate Player of the week once so far this season. She leads the team in kills, kills per set and total attack attempts.
Giufre said Borquist is a player the team can count on at the end of games.
“She’s there for us and will make that big play to finish it off,” he said. “She’s an outstanding player.”
Borquist said that she never expected to receive these honors; she’s just trying to win games for her team.
“I obviously couldn’t have done it without my team,” Borquist said. “I’m just trying to make mom and dad proud, and have some fun while I’m doing it.”
Looking forward, Giufre said the team is taking it one day at a time.
“We don’t really look at the big end of the season picture,” he said. “Our focus is more on what we need to work on in practice each day. We want to win every day that we play.”
The Lady Hawks defeated Baruch College 3-1 on Oct. 2, going 25-8, 17-25, 25-18 and 25-17 in the games. The team had 16 serving aces, while only committing two receiving errors. King assisted on 38 tota
The Lady Hawks will take the court again on Wednesday, Oct. 9 against Williams College at the Hawk Center at 7 p.m.