The Union University women’s volleyball team kicked off conference play Tuesday night with a 3-0 win against Christian Brothers University. This moves their record to 2-11, but this win could not come at a better time after a disappointing start to the season in non-conference games.
Union’s campaign under new head coach Kristen Blackburn began with the Patriot classic in Tyler, Texas. They went 0-4 on the weekend but had some good performances from some of their new players including Jordan Moore, junior physical education major, who won All-Tournament honors. Sydney Whittaker, sophomore public relations major, also had a great performance winning her All-Tournament honors too.
The Missouri S&T Classic was the next set of games for the Bulldogs. Union used what they learned from the first few games to bring home a 3-0 win against Kentucky Wesleyan. The rest of the classic did not go as planned for Union, finishing the weekend 1-3.
One notable performance from the weekend was Reese Owens, junior digital media communications major, who had 13 kills, 15 digs and an ace against Missouri S&T. Despite the scores, for a team with six new players and a new head coach, winning their first game was a huge step forward.
Union wrapped up their non-conference games in the Reddie-Tiger Invitational in Arkadelphia, Ark. Union had a hard outing, finishing 0-4 in the invitational. The team still had two All-Tournament honors in Davey Slaughter, sophomore business major, and in Owens.
The team knew the past games did not show their full potential as they were dealing with many players injured and playing on the road every weekend. They kept their hopes high going into conference play.
“We finally found chemistry with our team on the court this past weekend and something clicked, so we are holding onto that going into conference since it’s a fresh start,” Whittaker said.
A 3-0 win Against Christian Brothers University in their first conference game is the huge momentum swing the volleyball team needed. Union dominated the whole game, beating Christian Brothers in all stats. Owens led Union with nine kills while Moore and Vanja Stefanovic, junior business administration major, had seven and six blocks. This creates an exciting build-up to the next home games this weekend.
Marie Torosian, sophomore nursing major, recorded seven kills in the win against Christian Brothers. She explains how important the win was for the team.
“We were all hungry for a win and I think that lit a fire in us to take care of business at home,” Torosian said. “That win was like a breath of fresh air, and I think it’ll serve us well going into the rest of conference play with confidence, fire and lots of energy and fight.”
Union will face Mississippi College at home Sept. 22.