Assistant Sports Editor
The winter months are usually when all the plants are dying or dead, and most likely stay that way until the sunshine of spring beats down upon them. Men’s volleyball head coach Charlie Sullivan compared his own team to “a closed flower right now” and he feels they are “waiting to blossom.”
There is no better way to move closer to blossoming then heading to Hawaii to gain valuable experience and take challenges from the best competition in the entire country.
The wins and losses did not amount to anything a coach would hope for while the Pride competed in Hawaii at the Outrigger Invitational, but the experience is not something Sullivan takes for granted. The Pride were able to compete against tremendous competition, grew closer as a group, and became more aware of certain things they do well.
“We saw, against the best competition in the country, that our middle attack is very good,” said Sullivan. “We had some exceptional numbers in the middle. Our service group was awesome too, very good.”
The wins and losses seem irrelevant for a small school like Springfield competing in such a large venue. Sullivan acknowledged that the trip was very positive for his team, and he was proud of the way they competed the entire time there. He felt they grew closer as a unit, and identified “team cohesion” as something that separates this team apart from past teams.
When the Pride (1-3) got back to school, they took on Sacred Heart (0-3) at home and were able to grind out a five-set win. Sullivan feels good with where they are at right now and is looking forward to what the future holds for this team.
Dylan Tully may be reached dtully@springfieldcollege.edu