by The Cowl Editor on September 13, 2018
Friar Sports
By Sullivan Burgess ’20
Sports Staff
It has been an exciting few weeks for the Providence College Women’s Volleyball team as they continue to extend their 6-4 record.
The Friars are coming off of a series of two tournaments in the last two weeks, starting with the 14th Annual Friar Volleyball Classic. This year, the teams included PC, Brown University, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and Fairleigh Dickinson University, one of the opponents from last season’s tournament.
The mindset going into the tournament was to fix the mistakes made at the Boston College Invitational, where the Friars fell 0-3 to both Sacred Heart University and Boston College, while beating the University of Hartford, 3-0. Megan Onyundo ’19 stated the best ways to fix these mistakes came from practicing to watching film as well as from analyzing stats from the previous games in order to determine goals. Additionally, the team practiced servicing and ball distribution. Onyundo is currently sixth in kills with 31, and third in service aces with eight.
When asked about her goals for her last year on the team, Onyundo stated, “We needed to win every game, I know we can definitely win with all our talent, we need to do our job to help the team win in any of our roles.”
Onyundo also wanted to enjoy her time on the court as much as possible and take in every moment she spends with the team.
Their mindsets and goals worked perfectly, as they turned around and went onto win the Friars Classic, creating a positive atmosphere in the locker room. Each player was able to take pride in their performance, as they adapted to each opponent’s games in order to fix the problems from previous matches.
This new mindset was helpful for the Friars as they went to their next tournament in Kansas City, the Kangaroo Classic. This year’s matchups included Southeast Missouri State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Arkansas State University.
Injuries have set the Friars back this season. No one on the team has been seriously injured, but a series of knee injuries and concussions have affected a few players this season.
One thing Onyundo wanted to express clearly was the amount of useful advice she has been giving to the freshmen as school starts and practices become longer. Since school, practice, jobs, and life takes a toll on them, she has been talking one-on-one with each of them to create a bond with each player, making them feel like family.
With the next tournament swiftly approaching, the team aims to continue the chemistry they had developed from the last few games and to continue to adapt to changed lineups.
Overall, the team went 2-2 in the Kangaroo Classic beating both SIUE and Southeast Missouri, and losing to UMKC and Arkansas State.
The team came back home on Sept. 11 looking to bounce back against Bryant University. PC played the Bulldogs tough all the way; forcing a fifth set after being down two sets to one. Unfortunately, the Friars were not able to pull out the win, losing the fifth set 15-10. Allison Impellizeri ’19 led the team with 14 kills.
Fans make a major impact at home games when they come out to visit and cheer. The players have been noticing more students attending each year and how they love their support and even insults/jokes used on the other team.
The Friars’ season is already off to a hot start, and it is exciting to see what is in store for the ladies this season as Big East Conference play commences.