Written and Media by Sara Dawson.
The Greenville University Women’s Volleyball team won their conference tournament this past weekend, making it their third time doing so.
They are the first program at Greenville University to qualify for four NCAA National Tournaments. They also have had a five-set win in the SLIAC tournament against Westminster. The team’s championship match saw Greenville unable to close a 23-22 lead at the end of the first set as Westminster earned four of the final five points in the set to gain the first set victory 26-24.
Westminster took control of the second set and won 25-17, but Greenville led by as many as 11 points in the third set en route to a 25-18 win. This was followed by another 25-18 set victory.
Anna Fitch is a freshman from Moline, Ill. She was rewarded with the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year and All-Tournament selection. SLIAC Player of the Year, First Team Member, and Tournament MVP were awarded to Allyson Mitchell, who is a senior from Gurnee, Ill. Second Team Recipient and All-Tournament Team honoree was awarded to Brittni Bell, a senior from Delavan, Ill. Alex Falcone, named to the Third Team, is a sophomore from Sellersburg, Ind. And lastly, Sarah Watts was awarded a member of the All-Sportsmanship Team as Greenville’s selection.
The team had an amazing season, playing 34 matches and winning 26.
Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Tom Ackerman said,
“This was an amazing year filled with great challenges and great accomplishments. I was so impressed with this group and how they came together as a team at just the right time. We had almost as many new players as we had returners this year and that can be very difficult on a team, but the returners did an excellent job of protecting our culture and the new players bought in… It was a memorable year for sure. These are some of the most resilient players I have ever coached.”
Middle blocker Anna Finch stated,
“Our season went really well. We got to compete with a lot of higher-level teams, which created really good experiences… I think my favorite story would have to be when we came from behind to win the conference tournament. My favorite thing about this season was how we overcame a lot of adversity throughout the season. The volleyball program at Greenville is really special because we have such a diverse group of girls that come together to glorify God at a high level of competition.”
Lauren Witte said about the team’s coaches,”Our coaches… are so great at finding fun places to go and things to do… They work so hard to keep us happy and entertained on the road, and they are spectacular at it.”
About her teammates, Witte added,
“We truly do everything we do because we love each other. For example, at the NCAA tournament, only 17 girls can dress on the bench and the rest have to sit behind the team. One of our players, Katie Roberts, was dressing for the NCAA tournament but decided to give her spot to a girl who was not dressing. She gave it up because she loves her and our team is a team that is bigger than ourselves… I’ve never been a part of such an amazing program with such loving, humble human beings. I will miss this team more than anything.”
The women’s volleyball team did an amazing job this season and Greenville University could not be more proud of them and their dedication to win.
