The Colby Echo

Issue date: 9/16/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Caroline Dickson

The women's volleyball team kicked off its season off in style this weekend, hosting a tournament at home in the Wadsworth Gymnasium. Six teams took part in the Colby Invitational: Colby, Bates College, Husson College, Maine Maritime Academy, University of Maine Farmington and University of Maine Presque Isle. The Colby women went 3-1 for the tournament, defeating Husson 3-0, Maine Maritime 3-1 and Maine Farmington 3-0, while losing to Bates 3-1. Bates went 4-0 over the weekend, taking the tournament title. Caitlin Burchill '12 was named to the all tournament team.

With the season opening tournament in the books, the Mules look forward to what should be a strong fall season in volleyball. There is a lot to look forward to from a team that has added six new players (two sophomores and four first-years) to the 13-person roster. Head coach Candice Parent expects all of the newcomers to contribute immediately, teaming up with the veterans to help improve on a team that finished last year 12-16 overall. Coach Parent is setting the new tone early, trying out some unconventional strategies for the team this season. "We are not going to have captains this year, and depending on how it goes, we may not truly have captains again. I have been researching this a bit and there are some great reasons not to name specific captains. I have been really stressing over the past 3-4 years that volleyball is such a fast paced game and momentum is everything and we really need to have everyone be a leader on the floor," Parent said.

Aside from the innovative strategy regarding on court leadership, Coach Parent has her coaching strategies clearly defined for the upcoming season. Parent said, "Defensively, I think we are one of the best teams around, with players like Caitlin Burchill and Claire Reich ['11] leading the way. Offensively we are going to have to work on being a little more consistent both in serve receive and in setting….This weekend, I felt as though we were very tentative hitting…it will come though as it is very early in the season!"

But the road ahead is not easy for the volleyball team as it tackles a tough schedule on the road towards New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) glory. The Mules play a very tough schedule. "There are no easy matches within our conference," Parent said, "and two out of our three non-conference weekends are at the most competitive tournaments in New England, the MIT Invitational and the Hall of Fame tournaments. I personally like it this way because I do not believe you can get better unless you play the best teams." Colby only plays three more home games all season. They will be against UNE, Bates and USM. The rest of the games will be at locations around New England.

Many hurdles remain between the Colby women's volleyball team and the end of a successful season, but the team has come flying out of the gates early, and, with a good mix of new rookies, seasoned veterans and bold coaching, should have an exciting and successful season in the months to come.

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