Season of Struggles for Lions volleyball
Sophomore libero Morgan Nash focuses on the ball as she prepares to pass it to one of her teammates, redshirt junior Bridgette Jaeger (left), freshman Olivia Lewis (far right), and sophomore Janelle Brehm (middle right), inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on Saturday, Oct. 6. Elaine Parrigon | The Chart
MSSU drops fifth straight,
face NO. 3 Lopers tonight
The women’s volleyball team is seeing the struggles build up, and the losses pile on. A team that had their best season last year, since the 2010 season. A season in which they won 18 games and lost 14. Last season they finished with an 11-20 record. This would be the second worst season they’ve had since they began an eight-year stretch of losing seasons.
If the Lions don’t win another game this season they would finish at 2-26, which is one loss away from repeating their 2-27 season in 2015. The only season that featured a worse record during this eight-year stretch was a 0-30 season in 2012. The Lions are currently 2-17 and have nine matches left on the season. Winning out would feature an 11-17 season, which would be better than last season percentage wise, but the odds are against them in such a difficult volleyball conference, in the MIAA.
The Lions have now lost five straight matches after their two losses at home this past weekend. The Lions were swept by an undefeated Washburn Ichabods team, and the ninth ranked team in the nation at the time. That was on Friday night last week.
On Saturday, the Lions played a team that was in the bottom half of the MIAA in the Emporia State Hornets. They Hornets lost the first set to the Lions but bounced back and won the final three to notch their third straight win. ESU improved to 4-5 in conference play and 10-12 overall. The Lions fell to 2-7 in conference play.
The Lions will be taking their farthest trip inside the MIAA conference with a trip to Kearney, Nebraska. The Lions will be taking on the Lopers of Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers enter play ranked third in all of division two volleyball. The Lopers only loss on the season came against the Ichabods. The Ichabods are still ranked ninth this week and still undefeated. The match in Nebraska will be Friday night at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, the Lions will come a little closer to home with a match in Fort Hays, Kansas. The Fort Hays State Tigers are currently at 0-9 in conference play and just 6-15 overall. FHSU will be playing the Southwest Baptist Bearcats tonight at 6 p.m. So their record is going to change prior to the matchup with the Lions on Saturday. That matchup between the Tigers and the Bearcats will be a battle of winless teams inside conference play.
Despite a struggling team, and a dismal season, the Lions have faced a very tough schedule. Conference and non-conference, the Lions have faced many ranked opponents. Seven of their opponents have been ranked, and of their final nine matches, three teams will be ranked for sure.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Missouri Southern State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
