By Emily McLaughlin
Coming off an unexpected loss this past year, the women’s volleyball team at the University of Tampa looks forward to paving the way to victory. They bring hope and goals of improvement to the team this coming year.
As the year begins for The University of Tampa women’s volleyball team, they start it off on the right foot. They came out victorious by winning their first three games, defeating Central Missouri 3-1, Missouri S&T 3-0, and even Gannon 3-0 at the Tampa Classic.
The girls look forward to keeping the winning streak alive as they leave for the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament. This is located in Boston and is happening from Friday, Sep.7 until Saturday, Sep. 9.
The UT women’s volleyball team opens up the tournament by playing New Haven at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. This is followed by a 3:00 p.m. game versus American International on the same day. On Saturday they will battle it out with Bentley University at 1:00 p.m.
UT is celebrating more than just their three-game lead. Team member junior, Kali Cors, known for her outside and rightside hits, had a spectacular performance the weekend of Sep. 1. This led her to be nominated as the Sunshine State Conference player of the week. Scoring 6 blocks, 20 digs, and 37 kills.
She is a valuable asset to the team but she could not do it alone. The team’s willingness to work together has strengthened their communication and plays. The girls’ motivation to win is what makes them unstoppable. They have shown to be a communicative and collaborative team time and time again.
Head coach Chris Catanach takes help from associate head coach Brian Imperiale, and student assistant Peyton Meiring. They support the team and coach them to success. The continued practice has made the girls right on track for a great season.
With the neverending support and excitement students at UT have shown with this upcoming season are nothing but positive.
“I’m excited about the team spirit and ready for the competitiveness to come out of our UT volleyball players,” said Reagan Ladd, freshman advertising and public relations major.
Having the support of not only students but also the cheerleaders makes the team that much more exciting.
“I am very excited to start cheering at volleyball games especially since I have never cheered for volleyball before” said Emily Watson, a freshman in communications major “I am excited to try something new with my new team.”
It takes a campus to make a team. All the support and energy from incoming freshmen as well as upperclassmen has made this season already exciting.
“I’m trying to go to a lot of games for different sports this year,”said Chloe Mott, a junior in the communications media and culture major.
Students are excited to see all the hard work the women’steam has put into improving this year. They started strong with a 3-0 record, hopefully, the team keeps up the good work.