Saints fight adversity on road to victory

The name of the game for the Saints volleyball team right now is resilience.
Although the Saints currently sit in the number one seed position in the Southern region with a 3-0 record and a 13-1 record overall heading into tonight’s game against the Linn-Benton Roadrunners, they haven’t had an easy road to recent victories.

In Saturday’s match against the Umpqua Riverhawks, the number four seed in the Southern region with a 0-2 record and an 8-16 overall, the Saints changed from a 6-2 rotation to a 5-1 rotation, causing a lack of communication on the floor.

“Our biggest struggle was that we were almost overly focused because of everything that had gone on,” said Speer referring to changes in the lineup, “Our focus needs to be on always communicating, and to have lots of talk on the court,” said Speer.

The Saints stepped up to sweep the match in three straight games (25-20, 25-9, 25-18.) Leading the offense with double-digit kills was sophomore Demi Belshe with 11 kills and freshman Casi Johnson with 10 kills.

Johnson said her teammates have made her feel comfortable on the floor. “I feel like everyone’s been really nice to me and about helping me improve, ” said Johnson, “I’m going off of the leadership of the sophomores.”

On Sept. 23, the Saints faced the Southwestern Oregon Lakers (0-2, 5-9) and were thrown a curve ball with their number one setter and Walla Walla Tournament MVP sophomore Rylie Engelson spraining her ankle in warm-ups 30 minutes prior the match.

With little time left before the match, number two setter freshmen Alyssa Hall had to step up, changing the 6-2 rotation to a 5-1 rotation on the spot.
“I want to stress what a great job Alyssa did stepping up,” said head coach Chelsie Speer.

Hall, who is four inches shorter than Engleson, was nervous stepping into the role. “She was a little bit nervous, just because it happened so fast. She is smaller than Rylie so it’s harder, but she does what she can and did a great job,” said Speer.

In addition to Engleson’s injury, the team faced another obstacle in the loss of freshman starter and middle blocker Kylie Kitzmiller and her sister, red-shirt freshmen Kaycie Kitzmiller, who suffered injuries in a car accident following a Tuesday night practice.

The team welcomed back sophomore outside hitter Devan Belshe, who sat out the previous game due to a shoulder injury but came back strong contributing six match kills en route of a defeat over the Lakers in three straight games (25-18, 25-21, 25-16.) Standout performances by sophomores Natalie Dwight who led the offense with nine kills, Kaitlyn Maddams who put down eight kills, and Demi Belshe helped the Saints secure the victory.

“Our returners have been outstanding leaders,” said Speer who is stressing the importance of communication and unity to her players. “I want the girls to think of this team as a second family, to trust and believe in each other,” Speer added.

The Saints will head to Linn-Benton today to face the Roadrunners who head into tonight’s match with a 1-0 Southern region record and a 19-4 record overall. The match will prove to be a challenge for the Saints who lost in three straight games (25-19, 25-19, 25-22), Sept. 10 against the Roadrunners, marking their sole loss on the season.

“It’s going to be a battle to go into their house and get it done,” said Speer.
Johnson said, “We need to really step it up. We had sort of a rough start with that game. We’re really pumped, and I think that will help us get it done.”
The Saints head to Linn-Benton tonight with a match start time of 6 p.m.