Women's volleyball set for postseason play

Elizabeth Pacheco Sports Editor

For the Vassar women’s volleyball team, last weekend’s Liberty League Champinships were bittersweet. Though the team lost five-game matches to Skimore and Union Colleges, resulting in a third place finish, the squad’s impressive performances were not left unrecognized.

Caitlin Ly ’10, who was out of the tournament with a sprained ankle, was named to the name the First Team All-League, while captains Amanda Hsiung ’08 and Cat Foley ’08 were named to the Second Team All-League. The team’s third captain, Alia Al-Khatib ’08, made Vassar history when she received the Liberty League’s Co-Player of the Year award. She is the first Vassar women’s volleyball player to do so since the team joined the League in 2000.

These awards come as no surprise, as the team currently holds a winning 22-10 record. This season, the team has made a pattern of competing in five-game matches. Four of their 20 regular-season wins came from five-game matches, while five of their eight regular season losses occurred in five-game matches. Included in their wins is a first-place finish in the Union Tournament on Sept. 14-15 and another over SUNY New Paltz, whom Vassar defeated for the first time in four years.

Head Coach Jonathan Penn is more than pleased with the team’s performances this season. “I’ve never been so impressed,” he said. “We will go at it for all of practice and, dripping in sweat, the girls will still go to the weight room.”

With only three seniors and no juniors on the squad, the lack of upperclassmen and experience could have proved detrimental to their performance. However, “the sophomores have really stepped up,” said Penn. “They’ve risen to the challenge and have made great strides both on-and off-court.”

The team, however, would not have been as successful if not for the leadership of the three senior captains. “The captains are amazing,” said Penn. The seniors will graduate having left their marks on the Brewer record books. Al-Khatib will have become the first women’s volleyball player to reach 1,000 kills, digs and set assists. Hsiung currently holds the record for career digs and Foley has recorded the most solo blocks.

Looking at their performances last weekend, Al-Khatib said, “In terms of how we played this weekend, I think we all realized there was a lot of pressure placed on one match, especially in terms of going to [National Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships]. I don’t think we played our best in light of this.”

The team will have another chance to defeat Union, the Liberty League Champion, as the third-seeded team in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this Saturday, Nov. 10. Vassar defeated Union in a five-game match during the Vassar Invitational, but lost to them in another five games at Liberty Leagues. With only this final competition left, the Brewers are looking to finish this season with a championship title.