The Chart Online

Errors cause losses for volleyball squad
Kristen Smith

Staff Writer

Lady Lions volleyball served into the weekend as it challenged Emporia State University and Washburn University on Sept. 27 and 28.

ESU led the Lady Lions into a five game match on the 27th. Southern defeated ESU in the first two games until Emporia came back in the last three games and won the match. The highs for the match included senior Amy Little making 13 kills, 54 attempts and 22 digs. Junior Kim Mutert held 58 assists during the match.

"In Friday s game, we came out really strong the first two matches, Mutert said. We just didn't finish. We started making errors. In the third game, we started doing things we hadn't done in the first two, so we got down."

Freshman Cindy Fleming was able to gain playing time during the weekend games.

"They were very beatable," Fleming said. "We could have beat them."

On Sept. 28, the Lady Lions faced Washburn, which led Southern in a short game. The Lady Lions were defeated in the first three matches 22-30, 25-30 and 19-30, giving Washburn the win.

"We need to be more intense," Fleming said." We lost our focus."

Southern held 37 kills and 33 defensive digs over Washburn.

"We all showed up on Saturday, but we didn't show up to play hard," Mutert said.

She said the loss on Sept. 27 took a toll on the team.

"Everyone was trying as hard as they could but nothing was getting done," Mutert said.

The team discussed its losses and decided this wasn't the way it wanted to finish out the rest of the year.

"Coach Traywick doesn't question our ability," Mutert said. "It's just the little mental stuff. Sometimes when we are out there, we shut down mentally."

The team has decided intensity on the court needs to change to 100 percent all the time.

The Lady Lions have a second chance to play Emporia and Washburn. They travel to Kansas on Oct. 25 to face Emporia, then head to Topeka on the 26th to play Washburn.

Mutert said she was surprised with the turnout at the games.

"I have seen more people at our games this year than the past two years," Mutert said. "We usually see a lot of families, but this year we are seeing a lot more students."

The team is excited to have student support at the games.

The Lady Lions defeated Southwest Baptist on Oct. 2 by winning the match 30-22, 30-18 and 30-17. Southern now stands at 8-9 for the season.

The University of Alabama travels Saturday to Joplin to challenge the Lady Lions. AU is not in the same conference as Southern. However, it could be a regional win for the team.

"It will be good for us," Mutert said. "It will be a matter of what our mindset is."