Victorious V-Hawks: Women’s volleyball continues to win as season progresses

Grace Monk, Sports Editor

Since the start of the season in August, women’s volleyball has been dominating the court with 29 of their 30 matches resulting in a win. After having a troubling fall season in 2020 due to COVID-19, the team has come back stronger than ever. 

The fall season kicked off on August 12 with the team scoring their first victory of the season. The team played Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla., and beat the top 20 opponents with a score of 3-0.  With a strong start under their belts, the team managed to keep their winning streak alive for six more games. 

On August 28, the team suffered their first loss of the season with the Midland Warriors beating them 1-3. This was their first game of the day in a tournament that took place here on Viterbo’s campus in the R.W. Beggs Senior Gym. While experiencing the first loss of their nearly-perfect season was disappointing, it wasn’t enough to stop these athletes from trying again. 

The women’s team had a second game to play that afternoon against the Grand View Vikings. With little time to worry about their loss, the team went in full force hoping to come out victorious. After three matches the game concluded and Viterbo ended up on top with a sweep 3-0. The team redeemed themselves after losing its first game of the season with a victory against the Vikings and began working on their win streak once again. 

Having August behind them, the women continued on their path to victory throughout September. The team participated in 14 winning matches with 10 of them being a clean sweep. By the time October rolled around, they had a new winning streak of 15 games outnumbering their previous streak of seven from the month before. So far, the team has won all seven of the matches they have played in October and still have four more to go this month. As of October 16, the team has won 22 consecutive games and are on the fast track to this years NAIA championship.  

In the fall of 2020, the women’s volleyball team only played 10 games with eight of them resulting in a loss. The team lost their NAIA ranking that fall after two seasons of being in the top 10. With a more successful season in the spring of 2021, they made their way back into the top 25 after winning 11 of the 14 games that took place. The women’s volleyball is currently polling at number two in the NAIA coaches poll right behind the University of Jamestown. 

With their current season more than halfway over, the future looks promising for the team. Not only have they made a strong comeback, but they have proven what hard work and dedication can accomplish. They are set to play two more away games this month in North Dakota at Mayville State on the October 22 and Presentation College on the October 23.  

If fans want to catch these victorious V-Hawks in action they will be playing two games at Viterbo as well. The first game will take place on October 29 at 6:00 p.m. against Dickinson State and the other on October 30 at 1:00 p.m. against Valley City State. Both games will be played in the R.W. Beggs Senior Gym.