Serving it up: women's volleyball

By David Bishop
Staff Writer

The women’s volleyball team is nearing the end of the 2003 season with only two important conference games remaining until the conference tournament.

With a record of 6-26, the Lady Braves have had a
difficult season. It has been a transitional period for
the team, and they have managed to maintain
resilience and determination.

This year’s squad was mostly composed of new faces, and they have had to become familiar with one another quickly to learn to work as a team.

“We’re very inexperienced, but yet we have a tremendous amount of potential,”said Head Coach Beverly Justice.

She feels that the team’s major weakness this year is inexperience. “Two-thirds of the team has never played (at) this level before,” said Justice.

However, the Lady Braves have also demonstrated some strong points this season.

“We really have progressed from where we were in the early season to where we are now,” said Justice. “We’ve had a lot of individual improvements. We don’t give up when we get down a game or two within a match. We have a lot of chemistry.”

The most commendable attributes of the volleyball team seem to be their ability to keep a positive attitude and continue communicating.

“At the beginning of the season, we were winning,” said junior Amy Julian. “When we started losing, we stopped talking and communicating on the court.”

She now feels that the team’s enthusiasm has improved.

“We rise to the occasion and step up on the court,” said Julian.

Team captain Natalie Niesborella has also kept a positive outlook.

“I feel that working with the large group of people that we brought in this season has helped me grow as an individual player and as a team player as well,” Niesborella said.