Mark Loiselle
Staff Writer
Within a season, there are successes and hurdles to reach team goals, and essentially the eyes must feast upon the prize.
This past weekend, the Springfield College women’s volleyball team displayed tremendous volleyball outlasting Amherst College 3-1, Williams College 3-2 and Middlebury College 3-2 at the Volleyball Hall of Fame Invitational. Junior outside hitter Tessa Smolinski’s exceptional performance (69 kills, 58 digs, and 10 aces) all of last week not only granted her with All-Tournament Team, but also NEWMAC and ECAC Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week.
“I am still never satisfied with the way I play, so I still only want to work harder,” Smolinski said. “I could not receive any of this recognition without my team, and they have been playing so well to get me the ball on the outside.”
In the duration of this weekend, the Pride illustrated perseverance and mental toughness on the road. With that said, Springfield with two of days rest lost to one of their conference rivals WPI 3-0 last night, destructing their six-game winning streak.
“We always look at it and say, ‘How do we learn from it?’” said Coach Moira Long. “I think we need to take away that we need to be mentally prepared for every match, stepping on the floor and recognizing we have a big target on our back.”
Long’s team has one more game left on their remaining schedule, and then it’s off to defend their NEWMAC Championship. “Resilient” has been an adjective to describe the Pride in this 2012 season, according to Long.
To sustain a winning mindset, the team will have to hurdle over the previous gaps and charge the net against Coast Guard on Saturday at 1 p.m. to gain momentum as NEWMAC Championship quarterfinals are on the doorstep.