As the ball dropped to the gym floor, the crowds’ cheers quieted as the match came to a dramatic close, with Cedarville falling to Walsh in five sets.
Despite this, head coach Greg Smith felt positive about the direction that his team is headed in.
“I do feel like we’re growing, we’re getting better,” Smith said.
After dropping a close first set 28-26, the Yellow Jackets won the following two sets 25-16 and 25-19. They then dropped the last two sets, 25-19 and 15-9, taking the loss after an early burst of energy.
Smith found positive aspects of his team’s efforts, which were encouraging to see despite the losing effort.
“I thought they played pretty scrappy,” Smith said. “We’ve never seen a triple block before and just learning how to score against a defense that they are not accustomed to. I felt like they did well with that.”
The crowd was electric throughout the game, and even though the end result was not what the home crowd hoped for, positive energy lasted even after the match had concluded. From “Sweet Caroline” to “What Makes You Beautiful,” a wide variety of song selections in between sets and during timeouts allowed the crowd to stay involved and keep their energy up, creating a thrilling atmosphere for fans and players alike.
There were many standout performances as well, as freshman Cam Davenport had the lone ace on Cedarville’s side and was second behind fellow freshman Cassi Shields in kills. Davenport was also second in digs behind senior Mallory Delamarter.
Cedarville finished out the weekend in a 3-1 win against Malone on Sunday, bringing them to 4-6 on the year. They will play at Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday, September 10.
Julia Swain is a freshman journalism student. She likes listening to Taylor Swift, watching sports, and playing sand volleyball in her free time.
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