Women’s club volleyball tied for third in their first tournament of the semester at West Chester University. The tournament consisted of 10 teams, which were split into two pools of five. Lafayette’s competition consisted of Villanova University, Drexel University, Rowan University and the University of Delaware.
Lafayette faced all four of the teams in the pool this weekend, with each game having two sets. Against Delaware, Villanova, and Drexel, the team split the games, winning one set and losing the other. They then lost both sets against Rowan.
Senior club president Dolce Whitwell described a memorable moment of the weekend in which first-year middle hitter and blocker Gabby Pedulla had her first big hit.
“She just really connected with the ball and it was hit straight down and no one got to it,” Whitwell said. “She has been working really hard on her swing and timing, and it made me so happy to see her put it all together.”
Whitwell also commended senior libero Theresa Chua and sophomore Alex Yuelys for stepping up as leaders.
“[Chua] did an amazing job leading the back row and being someone our younger teammates could look up to. One of our pin hitters [Yuelys] excelled at every position we put her in on Saturday and she did it all with a smile and positive attitude,” Whitwell said.
“One of our outside hitters, [sophomore] Kathryn Wright, did really well this entire tournament, and then all our freshmen just absolutely blew me away,” sophomore club vice president Kate Demaree added. ” It was their first tournament with us, so it was definitely very exciting for them and they all killed it. It was really exciting to see them get on the court and play their best.”
In preparation for the tournament, they played against the men’s club volleyball team and had a team dinner the night before.
“Our favorite team bonding activity is we do a pasta dinner party the night before every tournament,” Whitwell said. “It is hosted at one of the seniors’ houses and it is such a fun time with yummy food. It really brings us closer and helps us get to know each other even better off the court before a tournament.”
The club women’s volleyball team entered this season coming off of past success, finishing third overall in their region last year.
Wright said the team hopes to qualify for regionals again and attend nationals this year.
Women’s club volleyball has three more tournaments left this semester. Tomorrow, they have a home tournament at the Kamine gyms that will last much of the day.
“We’d love to see some students show out,” Wright said.