By ALEX MULHALL – STAFF WRITER
The Centre Volleyball season is more than halfway over, but things are far from winding down for the Colonels. Senior Suzanne Asbury has high hopes for the end of the season and for post-season play.
“I think our season has progressed ok,” Asbury said. “We’ve had our good and bad days, but we will hopefully be good to go by the time our conference tournament rolls around.”
Asbury is one of two co-captains on this year’s squad, with Senior Celia Moser serving as the other captain. Coach James Neyhouse emphasized how tight-knit and cohesive is this year’s unit.
“The seniors are certainly the leaders, but each player knows they have a responsibility to lead,” Neyhouse said. Asbury echoed these sentiments.
“Our team is extremely close,” Asbury said. “We aren’t afraid to just talk to one another and be honest.”
Unfortunately, this cohesion has not produced a significant number of wins, as the team is only 8-14 currently.
“There have been so many games that we have been right on the cusp of winning and have just fallen short,” junior Beth Cecil said.
In the face of adversity, these Colonels have drawn even closer together, using each loss as a motivation tool.
“It’s rough when you put forth so much effort and give it your all to fall short by just two points,” Cecil said. “But we’ve really learned to embrace our losses and take each one as a learning opportunity as we progress through our season.”
Coach Neyhouse also emphasized the amount of “hard work and perseverance” this year’s team has shown.
There have also been some individual setbacks on the team this year. Asbury, who has started since her first year, broke her thumb in late September.
“It has been a bummer, but the team has really stepped up,” Asbury said
“People are doing a good job at filling into positions they have never played and are working hard. One of the biggest strengths of this team is our ability to keep a positive attitude no matter what.”
This positive attitude has the Colonels on the right track for the rest of their season.
“At the beginning of the seasons, I think we were all a little disappointed with how things were progressing,” Cecil said. “Now, we are more and more excited to take on the next game and see how we can better ourselves from it.”
A pair of games this team is particularly excited about is their matchups with Berea College and Brescia University, both of which will occur on Sat., Nov. 1 at Centre. These two games mark the end of the regular season, which is celebrated every year with a Halloween Bash.
The Bash is “more or less of a team event that takes place after the games in the Warehouse,” Cecil said. During the party, each class dresses up according to a theme.
“Our coach’s dad picks the winner,” Asbury said. “We even have a plaque that the winners will go on.”
While they may not have the winning percentage to place them at the top of the conference, the Centre Volleyball team is as close as any group you will see on campus.
They have struggled through adversity together and come out stronger, wiser, and hungrier for the next win, all the while keeping their perspective on what really matters: each other.
“Over the course of the season, we’ve learned that success is measured by effort, not the ability to win,” Cecil said.
The team has three remaining home games in the month of October and two more in November, so be sure to go support the team before the end of their season. Their schedule can be found on the Centre Athletics website.