Volleyball ends on a spike
St. Michael's volleyball closes with losing season and aspirations for next year

Emily Kaas | staff writer

The volleyball team ended its season with two home games on Nov. 3 against Le Moyne and Nov. 4 against Merrimack.  The team lost both games 3-1, and the Purple Knights ended the season with an overall losing record, of 7-21.

Greatness & weakness

Head coach Emily Verbridge says that the team had strengths this year, such as an improved skill level as well as becoming more competitive this season than last year.  However, it was hard for the team to find a steady level of play during its games, Verbridge says.

The Volleyball team anticipates a spike against Merrimack on Nov. 3. Jon Stewart, photo

Even though the team lost, the last two games of the season went really well, especially the game against Le Moyne, Verbridge says.

Junior co-captain Amy Manougian says she thinks the season went well despite its losing record.

“The skill level on our team was a lot higher than our record shows,” she says.  “We have what it takes to win games.”

Verbridge agrees that the season went well and the three first-years brought great attitude and skill to the team this year, she says.

The team lost two seniors after this year, Kelsey Kobelt and Leslie Herwig, and Verbridge says the team lost a lot with their departures. Verbridge says they added a lot of personality and dedication to the team.

A tougher season

Manougian says, the team had a lot more options this year than it did last year.

“A lot more people stepped up in different places that we didn’t have last year,” she says.  “Unfortunately, we were unable to finish the games.  In most of our games, we were matching them point to point, but we just couldn’t finish.”

This is the biggest factor that caused them to finish the season with a losing record, Manougian says.

“Our record makes us seem like we were a lot worse than we really were,” she says.

Co-captain Herwig says the conference became harder this season, which contributed to the team’s record.

“We improved a lot this season, but so did everyone else,” she says.  “We played tougher teams this year, but we played really well against them.”

Although the record was not as good as she had hoped, Herwig says that she doesn’t consider it a losing record.

“Compared to freshman year, we’ve made big improvements,” she says.

Junior Justine Fletcher says that the team had great players this season and the skill was there but the team was unable to win games.

Coach Verbridge gives some last minute advice before at set against Merrimack on Nov. 3. Jon Stewart, photo

Although the team may not have always meshed on the court, Manougian says all the teammates are good friends and the chemistry is great between the players.

“We all hang out in season, out of season, on the court and off the court,” she says.

Manougian says for the most part, this year’s team was the same as last year's with a few additions.  The team didn’t lose any seniors last year and gained three first-years this season.

“The freshmen only brought great things to the team,” Herwig says.

Fletcher says that the expectations for the team were a lot higher this year than last year.

“Last year we weren’t expected to do well so there wasn’t much pressure," she says.  "This year, we were expected to do well and there was more pressure on us."

Fletcher also says the coaching wasn’t as good as it should’ve been, which partly contributed to the team’s losing record.

Verbridge says sometimes the players chose not to listen to her, and there is a lot of “finger pointing” on the court. 

Looking ahead

Manougian says she is hopeful for a better season next year.  She says the team needs to improve on its strengths and learn from what happened this season.

Fletcher says the outcome of next season will be a complete surprise.

“I have no idea what will happen next year,” she says.  “I thought we would’ve done better this year than last year and we didn’t.”

She says how well the team does next year will depend on how much the players practice during the off-season.

Manougian says the experience the team has gained from this season will help to focus and rebuild for next year.

Herwig says that she has no doubt the team will be better next season.

Members of the volleyball team cheer on their teammates against Merrimack. Jon Stewart, photo

“They’ll have something to prove,” she says.

Verbridge says that next season the team needs to believe that they are capable of getting to Northeast-10s.

“We need to leave each game with no regrets,” she says.

Fletcher agrees that the team needs to be more focused on the court.

“People need to step up and we need more communication,” she says.  “We need a lot of leaders out there.”

Both Manougian and Fletcher say they are frustrated with how the season ended, but are hopeful that it will improve for next season.

“I’m happy with how we played but I’m frustrated that our record didn’t show how hard we worked,” Manougian says.