Volleyball cruises past Sterling in Quarterfinals

The win against Sterling on Nov. 12, sends the OU volleyball team to the semifinals against Tabor.

OU beat Sterling in their last two matchups 3-0, creating an intense atmosphere inside of Wilson Field House; OU couldn’t go easy on them even though they had already blown them out twice. They had to fight for their win.

Junior Allie Arnold kept her mind solely on the game at hand. “I wasn’t worried; I knew if we played like we had been, we were going to win.”

Assistant coach Chrissie Jeannin believed the biggest factor in winning the game was to not have her players’ worry about who they were playing on the other side of the net.

“We just needed to do what we do, and the rest will play itself out,” Jeannin said. “We try (as coaches) to instill in our players that anyone can beat anyone on any given day, it is just the game of volleyball, so we just try to teach them to never outlook anyone and just control us.”

Senior Nicole Gingery understands the idea of controlling the game and doing what she needs to do to help the team. “We really needed to relax,” she said. “We got down in the beginning and started to panic, but once we started to calm down, we started to play better and pull ahead.”

OU controlled the game, even though Sterling didn’t go without a fight. “We knew that they had a couple of good hitters and at any given point could make smart plays, but mostly we knew they would be smart about the placement of their tips,” Jeannin said.

“The game really came down to who can make the right play at the right time,” Arnold said. “We were able to work together and make the plays before Sterling did.”

Gingery, talked about how the team was ready for some of Sterling’s best play. “We’ve had a target on our back all season and this game was no different.”

Controlling the game requires teamwork. This year’s team is much different from lasts.

“We had older players last year that had been around for a while so they were able to get themselves through tough situation,” Jeannin said. “While this year we have more young players on the team and every game they are growing and becoming more confident with their playing.”

Jeannin says that this team is a strong one and has fought for what they have won so far this year, and in the end makes them a better team than when they started.

Arnold’s thoughts were different from Jeannin’s, saying that the dynamics weren’t that different this year compared to last.

“You have to go into the season with the mentality of going to play the best we can as a team and hope that is enough to win,” Arnold said.

As the team grows stronger, the thought of last year’s final round KCAC tournament loss still lingers in the player’s heads.

To make that loss a win this year, Jeannin believes the team needs to control what they can control and to just play their game. “We don’t need to worry about who we are playing, and to just take it one game at a time.”

Arnold believes to beat Tabor; the team’s mindset is the key. “We have to be ready to play aggressive and smart because they (Tabor) are a good team, but they are beatable as long as we play the way we are capable of playing.”

Last year OU hosted the semifinal tournament, so it is a change that they are going to be traveling to Salina for their next game.

“We are more of the underdog this year, which to me is another change having to start close to the bottom to get to the top,” Gingery said.

OU will play Tabor in the semifinal game, which beat OU 3-2 in their last two matchups.

“We just need to play the way we know how to and just make the plays when we need them,” Jeannin said. That is the way OU will be able to finally take town Tabor.

Believing is what Gingery is going to do during the Tabor game. “We’ve lost to them twice now, both in 5 sets, so we are definitely looking for revenge.”

Taking down Tabor would be a dream for the seniors, whose last game could potentially be to the Bluejays.

Jeannin believes that the seniors have been a big part of the team growing together because they have been able to step in and push people to play harder and they have been a voice within the team.

“Volleyball has been amazing and the coaching here has taught me a lot about the game but also about myself,” Gingery said. “You can’t play volleyball forever you know? So I’m more grateful for the relationships I’ve built; I’ve also made some lifelong friends from Ottawa volleyball and that’s what I’m going to take away from the program.”

Gingery is one of four seniors on the team this year.

“This year has been a fun year to be a part of,” Jeannin said. “To be able to see the players grow into different roles as the year before and to see them grow as players.”