On Nov. 12, the Union volleyball team defeated Shorter University to clinch the #3 seed in the upcoming GSC Tournament.
The win against Shorter capped off another impressive season for the Bulldogs volleyball team. Tracing back to 2019, the team has had back-to-back 20-win seasons.
“We really came together on Friday and Saturday against Shorter and Lee,” said senior outside hitter Alyssa Tatsch. “We swept both of them with an attitude of calmness. We played our best and knew we had it in the bag.”
The team’s chemistry seems to have come together at just at the right time as the postseason quickly approaches this week. Moving into the postseason is a different beast and requires a tough mindset.
“For our postseason, we just try to focus on one game at a time,” said head coach Darrin McClure. “Nothing is different in our preparation; we still watch film and practice the same.”
He went on to say that if anything is important in the postseason, the emphasis on rest cannot be understated.
Tatsch shared her feelings about the mental preparations for the postseason.
“Getting in the right mindset is a really important part of our preparation,” Tatsch said. “We know that we have played these teams before, but we also know there is something big that we were all playing for, so it’s having that determined confidence that will help us in the long run.”
This year’s tournament will be hosted by the University of West Florida, which has come out of the regular season looking like the team to beat. Other teams from the conference such as West Georgia, Montevallo and Mississippi College have found a spark late in the year, riding a high wave into the postseason.
“The coolest thing about a tournament format is that anything can happen,” said Coach McClure.
The tournament style is not much different from the regular season, but the catch is that it’s win or go home. With the stakes set so much higher, it amplifies the intensity of each point and set.
The Union team has done well in the regular season, finishing with a 20-12 record. The heavy lifting has been done. Now it’s time for the team to carry the fight throughout the postseason.
Coach McClure said that last week’s game felt a lot like a postseason game with the seeding of the teams being at stake. Had Union lost to Shorter, they would’ve claimed the 4 seed with Shorter clinching the 3. With Union earning the three seed, they earned a first round bye and will play the 6th or 7th seeded team in their first game.
“It’s like the old saying ‘the hay is in the barn,’” said Coach McClure. “We’ve put in the time and effort coaching them up and preparing them, now we just have to go out and execute.”
For the team to make the NCAA tournament, they will need to win the conference tournament and become the Gulf South Conference Champions. The team is looking to build on the big wins that they finished out the regular season with. Tournament play begins in Pensacola, Fla. on Nov. 19.
Photo by Union Athletics