MILWAUKEE -- Although the Alverno College women's volleyball team battled strong with Northland Baptist Bible College and looked ready to finally break out of an eight-match losing streak, the Inferno fell to the Pioneers in the fifth set to drop the non-conference match, 3-2, on its home court on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Milwaukee, Wis.
The Inferno (2-13 overall) hung with the Pioneers (7-5 overall) throughout the match, battling back from a 25-23 loss in the first set to take the second and third sets, 25-14 and 25-19, respectively, fueled in part by the stellar serving runs of junior setter Kim Reuter (Franklin, Wis.) and freshman outside hitter Liz Malko (New Berlin, Wis.). However, the home squad couldn't quite keep the same level of energy going, as Northland Baptist would take the final two sets, 25-19 and 15-6, to claim the match victory.
"We need to learn not to be scared when it comes down to crunch time," said Alverno head coach Crystal McClure. "The girls start to think, 'Oh it really matters now. Am I going to take the ball or are you going to take the ball?' Then no one ends up getting the ball. We need people to step up when it's close like that."
Despite those instances of mis-communication, McClure saw marked improvements in her team's play compared to its recent matches.
"We were so much more aggressive than we've been," McClure said. "Robyn (Rosenthal) was a stud player tonight. She hit everything and owned the front net. Each person on our team had their own individual highlights."
Rosenthal, a sophomore middle blocker from Waterford, Wis., teamed up with senior middle blocker/outside hitter Rebecca Schmid (Tigerton, Wis.) to lead the Inferno's offensive drive.
Although the Inferno have yet to put all the pieces together to break their streak of match losses, the pair of set victories in tonight's match helped the squad abolish a 23-set skid that had carried on since the last time the Inferno faced the Pioneers on Sept. 12.
Alverno will return to Northern Athletics Conference competition to face Aurora University on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
"We have to take it one game at a time, one point at a time," McClure said of facing Aurora, who sits at 1-11 overall, 0-3 in the NAC. "We have to set mini goals and continue to apply what we're learning in practice."
Match time with Aurora is set for 7 p.m. in Aurora, Ill.
