A case of volleyball fever seems to be catching at SMU as theMustangs came back from a loss in Hawaii last Saturday andentertained a growing crowd of Pony faithful with a 3-1 win overNevada. With the win against Nevada, a team in the Western divisionof the WAC, the Mustangs pick up two points in the standings, andbring their record to 7-1 in conference play. They also boost theiroverall record to 16-5.
The Mustangs began the night with a 31-29 win in the first game,and a sloppy, second-game, 18-30 loss in the second. The team cameout strong with back-to-back wins in the third and fourth game,with scores of 30-17 and 30-25 respectively. Head Coach LisaSeifert, while upset about the effort in the first two games,attributed the win to the defense.
“We played flat and unfocused in the first two games, butour defense, which now ranks seventh in the country, pulled usthrough, and I think that’s the mark of a good team; beingable to play poorly and still pull out a win,” Seifertsaid.
After having their 10-game win streak snapped by second-rankedHawaii last Saturday, the Mustangs hope that with the victoryThursday they can start another win streak.
“In these games against teams in the West, you have to bemore emotional,” middle blocker Kelly Larkan said.”After the loss on Saturday, we said to ourselves‘let’s start over’. We learned a lot, and eventhough it’s never good to lose, it can give you more desireto win.” Larkan led the team in blocks with five and finishedthe night with 15 kills, right behind junior outside hitter JackyNiederstadt’s 16.
After the win, the players stood alongside members of Mustangband, which made an appearance at the game for the first time thisyear. Along with loyal fans, the team sang a rendition of the almamater, “Varsity.” This tradition that usually onlypracticed at SMU football and basketball games has more and morerecently been showing up after volleyball games. The team wasall-smiles Thursday in appreciation of the support.
“The band, the loyal fans, we think it’sgreat,” said sophomore Jessica Mihm. “We’relethargic when we don’t have a crowd, but we’re sopumped when there are a lot of fans.” Mihm hopes that theattendance will continue to increase. “The more themerrier,” she said.
