By Mallory Hayes
Co-Editor-in-Chief
The Lady Bulldogs Volleyball team put up a good fight in Saturday’s matchup against UVA Wise. This conference rivalry, played in Wise, Virginia on October 10, was truly a battle to the finish. The two teams played point for point and went for all five games. The final, deciding game, however, went 15-11 to UVA Wise.
Senior captain, Whitney Ottow, remarked, “[Our] team played great; we had a lot of intensity and showed a lot of character.” Following a disappointing loss to Bluefield on Friday night, the Lady Bulldogs ended their weekend tour of Virginia by making their opponents fight for every point. Junior setter, Cassie Swinney, commented, “[Wise] gained the momentum and kept it most of the [fifth] game, which ultimately gave them the win.”
Although they failed to grasp the win, the Lady Bulldogs felt they played relatively well against the Cavaliers. Ottow asserts that her team is “closer as a whole, more intense, and really more focused than ever.” The team’s determination really was evident in its performance against Wise. Each point was very exciting, and the spectators certainly got a show from both sides. Swinney admits, “I felt we were going to win the game and pull it out in the end—it’s just the way things go sometimes.”
Looking to the remainder of the season, Ottow comments, “Even though our [regular] season record is not great, our conference tournament is what matters.” The senior expects to make a huge statement in the post-season and insists “we are better than the team [we were] at the beginning of the season.” The Lady Bulldogs hope to use Saturday’s game as a stepping stone for success in the remainder of their season. Their next conference matchup will be against Reinhart College at 7:00 p.m. on October 20 in Athens.
