The Panthers began a new season by returning to the annual St. Charles Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Elder has participated in this tournament for a number of years because it is an excellent way to get a lot of play and court experience as a team in a small amount of time.
The tournament began with pool play scrimmages on Friday evening. Overall, the team played rather well. The week leading up to the tournament offered us a lot of scrimmage time to work out a few of the kinks and bugs. So in Friday's scrimmages it was nice to see the team coming together and improving some of the problems that were noticed earlier in the week. We left the gym Friday night with an undefeated record in pool play and a spot in Saturday's Gold Bracket.
Saturday morning came far too early and began with a match against Pickerington North. Pickerinton was a particularly scrappy team. They were able to get many quality backcourt touches which only served to frustrate our frontcourt. However, in the end, it was our tough serving, offensive diversity, and tough front court defense that led us to vistory over the Panthers of the north.
In the second round Elder faced a very tough team out of Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville St. Xavier had a number of impressive players who were extremely well-rounded. Their middle hitter had an strong and quick arm swing that was effective from every spot on the court; especially from behind the service line. In order to combat the strength of the Tigers' attack, Elder mustered some impressive backcourt defense (Welch- 8digs, Kent and Moehring - 6 digs each), as well as smart attacks to exploit their blocking weaknesses. Elder frustrated Louisville St. Xavier enough to earn a hard fought victory and a trip to the finals of the tournment.
Harpenau blocking a setter dump against Louisville St. Xavier.
One of the challenges for any team in the early part of the season is to get the team to believe in their abilities and have confidence each time they step on the court, regardless of the opponent. This issue was a very real issue for the Panthers as we stepped onto the court to face our hometown rivals, the St. Xavier Bombers.
While the scores were relatively close (23-25, 18-25), the quality of play was not. All the things that the Panthers had done so well against their previous opponents in the tournament failed to make an apperance in the finals match. While no defeat is easy to endure, it is a particularly difficult pill to swallow when you fail to put your best foot forward. Overall, the weekend tournament was a good step forward for the team, eventhough the last match failed to illustrate it.
The climax to the week came 3 days later when the Panthers faced the Bombers in a regular season match. With the poor tournament performance fresh in all of our minds, it didn't take a lot for the players to be motivated to take the court. And take the court they did. Filled with the confidence and trust that they lacked in the first meeting, the Panthers put together an impressive performance from the serving line as well as a diversified offensive attack that seemed to give the Xavier defense difficulty.
As usual, the Elder faithful pitched in to offer a trenmendous home court advantage. The house was packed and the student body provided a boisterous and intimidating presence. Special thanks to all those that pulled "double duty" - attending the volleyball match after cheering on the Elder baseball team earlier in the afternoon.
Not only is the win important from the standpoint of a regular season match or in GCL standings, but it was also very significant in regards to building the confidence and conviction of this team. A lot of expectations have been placed on these players by people inside and outside of the team sphere. As a result, the players have battled their confidence and trust in one another much more than any opponent on the court. Last Wednesday, the Panthers rebounded against a very good opponent and showed the faith, confidence, and trust that is necessary to maintain a cohesive and successful team.
After enjoying the Easter break, Elder returns to competition this week with 2 home matches against Oak Hills and Purcell Marian. Thursday's match against Oak Hills will be the annual Grade School Night at the Pit. Any grade school volleyball players who come in their uniform will be admitted free and registered to win a host of lovely door prizes.
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