By By Drew Buono
Though it was just six matches into the 2005 season, the Pride volleyball team was at somewhat of a breaking point. Having lost four of the first six matches against tough opponents, the team entered Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play this past weekend in need of two big wins if it wanted to get off to a good start in the ultra-competitive conference. Mission accomplished.
The Pride leapt into the beginning of conference play with a thrilling five-game win match over James Madison University (JMU) that took almost three hours to complete. The victory came less than 48 hours after a 3-0, CAA opening win over the Patriots of George Mason University.
Contrary to the sweep on Friday, JMU pushed the Pride to its absolute limit. The match went a maximum five games (30-28, 27-30, 30-32, 30-26, 15-13), and each one was tighter than the one that preceded it.
“We didn’t want to lose anymore,” said sophomore setter Shellane Ogoshi, referring to two losses suffered in the Asics Invitational last weekend. “We were ready to play this weekend. We had to be.”
The Blue & Gold looked good early out of the gate, breaking a late 22-22 tie to win the first game by two. However, JMU proved to be resilient by winning the next two games, including a third game that was so close that it took 32 points to win instead of the traditional 30. This loss looked like it would be particularly painful for the Pride, which led 10-6 early and 27-24 late before the Dukes rallied.
“The team’s play up to that point was pretty good [despite being down 2-1],” head coach Fran Kalafer said. “The match was so close that all I could tell them after the third game was to cut down on errors and start strong.”
Once again the Pride was on the ropes, and once again the team responded in a big-pressure situation.
Seldom used junior middle blocker Dana Schaefer stepped in to help spark life into the Pride’s attack by contributing six critical kills in the fourth and fifth matches. At one point in the game, the Pride (4-4, 2-0 CAA) trailed the Dukes 20-16 when Schaefer got a kill that ignited a 7-0 run during which she compiled three kills and an assist.
“She made me look like a brilliant coach,” a beaming Kalafer said when asked about Schaefer.
Elizabeth Curley in the match against JMU. (Photo courtesy Athletic Dept.)
