Megan Zerrer
Sports Editor
As could be said for any properly motivated college sports team, Wooster’s volleyball team is looking for a strong start to the season. The 15 letterwinners returning from last season will ultimately guide the women to their success throughout the season. Anna Emmick ’17, Megan Mey ’17, Laura Sherer ’17 and Lydia Webster ’17 form a core group of seniors who aim to take the team to new heights in their final season.
“I am looking forward to leaving a positive impact on this team,” said Webster. “Stats and getting kills are great but I want to help my teammates become better, stronger players and women on and off the court. Out of everything this season I want to leave knowing this program is better because of the work and love that was put into it, not because of the statistics.”
While the volleyball team is not lacking when it comes to challenging opponents, Webster is confident in the team’s ability to fight back – and to win. “There isn’t a specific team we want to beat,” Webster said. “We want to be great and that means bringing the competition to every single match.” Wittenberg University will be a challenging rival for the women as usual, but Webster added that the women played well against Witt last year, and are aspiring to do even better against their long time rival this season.
Ashley Plassard ’19 spoke of facing challenging opponents and what the team has done in the preseason to prepare. “Any team can win on any given night, so coming to each match with a clean slate is important to be mentally prepared to face any opponent. You can’t go into a match assuming anything.” The team – like many others gearing up for a start to their fall seasons – has spent many hours in the gym, ensuring that each player is in the best possible shape for the season to come.
It seems safe to say that all the women on the team are looking forward to coming out strong this year and have a shared faith in their ability to win.
“The girls have worked so extremely hard and I have never had a better and more excited feeling for this coming season,” said Webster. “We have such strong players all around that if we stay humble, work hard and focus on the team, we have the potential to wreck the NCAC.”
Plassard echoes Webster’s sentiments, saying she is excited to work with some new teammates that are filling a wide variety of positions on the team. The team will have three new setters this year – Taylor Mathews ’18, a junior transfer, Kyana Harris ’20 and Erin Rajewski ’19, who is returning to the court after an injury last season. As Plassard spoke to the potential of these three setters, it became clear that this position would be one to watch in the upcoming season.
In addition to the new first-year faces, the volleyball team welcomes a new assistant coach, Bouaketh Chanthavisouk, who spent the last six years as the assistant coach at Gannon University. She brings extensive coaching experience at both the Division II and III levels to Wooster, and the team is looking forward to having her.
The women will be on the road for several matches before returning to play on Wooster turf on September 13 at 7 p.m. Webster echoed a common sentiment on the team – they love fans and encourage all of us to come out to watch them dominate the floor.
