Women’s Soccer fires away at the Canoneers
By: Abigail Nawrot
Sports Editor
Vikings’ Women’s Volleyball team lost against SUNY Adirondack in three straight sets on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Hudson Valley Community College started off the game strong leading with the first ten points before what began as a 10-10 tie, eventually ended with a 25-20 set loss.
Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Kelsey Wilson said this is where the team started to fall behind.
“The other team started to come back, and our team decided that wasn’t okay,” Wilson said. “The energy fell flat, and they just shut down.”
Vikings lost the second set 25-8, a significant decrease from the previous one.
The third set was only slightly better with an end score of 25-15, giving the game to SUNY Adirondack.
The Vikings faced a tough team with this being the second time losing to SUNY Adirondack in straight sets.
Out of 19 games played this season, the Vikings won only 5 of them, leaving the team with 14 losses.
Despite all this, the team takes measures to stay positive.
Katrina Vrooman, criminal justice major and women’s volleyball team captain, said they make time to encourage each other after a game.
“Lately, we’ve been doing kind of like a secret santa,” said Vrooman. “Each game day, we pick a player to surprise, and we get a fun little present and afterwards, when we find the gifts, if we won the game, we can celebrate, and if not, it’s something that can really cheer us up.”
Vrooman continued saying that the team hadn’t always used this system.
“We started in the middle of the season because things got really rough, and it’s been working for us,” she stated. “I really think it’s a great way to build morale, and sometimes we just need that.”
Communications major, Victoria Kendrick, finds that attitude is vital to their performance.
“Volleyball is 99% in your head,” Kendrick said. “You can have all the skill, but if you’re not in the right mindset, you can’t play if you’re too in your head.”
Coach Wilson agreed that team bonding is a helpful exercise for them.
“They have a hard time communicating and covering each other,” Coach Wilson said. “Keeping a positive attitude is really important right now.”
Beyond support from their teammates, the team agreed that having an involved audience has a positive impact on their performance.
“When there’s people supporting us in the stands, they’re cheering with us, and we can really feel it.” Vrooman said.
.The atmosphere was very different from the preceding home game, where the stands had been overwhelmed with fellow Hudson Valley student athletes.