The St. Thomas women’s volleyball team is no stranger to success. However, three early losses this season have tested the team’s ability to rebound.
After a 3-0 loss to No. 3-ranked Hope College and a 3-1 loss to No. 9-ranked Wittenberg University in the first weekend of the season, the team looked like it had turned a corner after a pair of 3-0 wins the following Friday. However, St. Thomas lost to Wisconsin-Eau Claire in four sets the following day, giving the team a 2-3 record after the first two weeks of the season.
Despite the early losses, coach Thanh Pham said the team isn’t panicking because it’s faced tough competition, and the players are still positive.
“The seniors are in it for the right reasons. They just think, How do I help the team win?” Pham said.
Pham said the team is looking ahead to the remainder of a long season.
“We don’t have anybody circled on our calendar, and one thing that makes us different this year is that we’re just good enough to lose to anybody,” Pham said.
Pham stressed the importance of resiliency and the Tommies’ ability to learn from their experiences early in the season.
“This year, it’s going to be about hard work,” Pham said. “Every match is big for us. Every match is a chance for us to see how we’re doing and what we need to work on.”
The Tommies hope to rally this weekend when they travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa to play the University of Northwestern (Minn.), Cornell College, Wartburg College and Loras College. The team won’t play at home until Sept. 17 against St. Mary’s College.
Pham expressed excitement to see how his team will perform, though he expects tough matches at this weekend’s tournament at Cornell.
“We see four really good teams in a matter of 24 hours. It will be a chance for us to see where we’re at,” Pham said.
Two Tommies leading the charge are middle blocker Kelly Foley and outside hitter Sara Atkinson, both members of the 2012 national championship team.
Like Pham, Foley said she isn’t worried about the team’s performance early in the season.
“We’re just going to work on fixing some kinks in our game and hopefully be ready for this weekend,” Foley said.
“We never try to overwork it or strategically practice for an opponent,” Atkinson said. “We always try to get in the gym and work really hard together no matter who we’re playing.”
Foley and Atkinson credit their senior experience for giving them the ability to view each loss as a chance to learn and improve.
“Every year I’ve been here, we’ve had one or two losses early in the season, and I think it’s made us a better team,” Foley said.
“It’s not really a loss if you learn from it,” Atkinson agreed. “If you come away from it with new goals, you can improve your game.”
While most teams experience adversity at some point during a season, Foley and Atkinson contend that there is something special about St. Thomas volleyball that contributes to the program’s success.
“On big teams especially, it can get really competitive with girls wanting to beat each other out, but the mindset for Tommie volleyball is always that you cheer for your sister and teammate,” Foley said. “Everyone wants to play, and everyone wants to start. We want what’s best for the team and not just individuals. We’re family, not each other’s competition.”
Kathleen Murphy can be reached at murp0003@stthomas.edu.