Cedars, December 2018

December 2018 19 SPORTS CU Volleyball Ends Season on High Note by Tim Miller W hile the 2018 Cedarville volley- ball season didn’t see any major records broken, it may have been the most unique in the program’s history. The team didn’t have a head coach until June and had less than a month of allotted practice time to get used to head coach Greg Smith’s new system. Even so, the Lady Jackets finished their season as one of the hottest teams in the G-MAC, going 11-7 in the second half of the season and winning the final five games. “My expectation was for the team to improve, and that expectation was met for sure,” Smith said. After a tumultuous 2-11 start to the season, Cedarville looked like it was in the midst of a complete rebuild. However, the team was able to learn Smith’s philosophy and get into a rhythm in the second half of the season. “We changed things offensively, defen- sively, and pretty much everywhere but the team jumped right on the train and grew into it pretty fast,” senior outside hitter Taylor Wilkerson said. “I liked the changes and I be- lieve how he runs this team is going to be re- ally successful in the future of this program.” Wilkerson, among others, saw a com- plete upheaval in the way they used to play. Wilkerson found herself in the back row much more than she did in her first three seasons at Cedarville, which led to a ca- reer-high in digs (more than doubling her old mark). She also led the team in kills (366), points (420.5), and service aces (40), all of which were top-10 in the conference. The theme of the season was improve- ment, and Wilkerson said the team’s ability to continually respond to adversity allowed them to get better as the season droned on. “I think we showed how much we changed and improved over the course of the season,” Wilkerson said. “We definitely didn’t accomplish everything that we said we want- ed to, but we never gave up, and I thought we really became strong through that.” The teamwas once again carried in part by sophomore middle hitter Lauren Wil- low’s play. Now earning an all-G-MAC se- lection in each of her first two seasons, Wil- low has the chance to become the anchor for the Lady Jackets in the second half of her Cedarville career. Willow was named to the G-MAC first team this year after finishing with 278 kills and top-10 conference totals in blocks and hitting percentage. “She is definitely better than being an All-G-MAC player,” Smith said. “The expec- tations for her are gonna be pretty high for the next two years. We have to make sure she doesn’t get satisfied because the team needs her to be very good.” The conference will become more ac- quainted with freshman outside hitter Sara Beste as she continues to grow with the Lady Jackets. A native of Cedarville, Beste had seen her fair share of Lady Jacket volleyball. However, she said she still didn’t know what to expect coming into her freshman season. Beste’s playing time grew throughout the season, and she eventually became a starter. She finished third on the team in kills and saw her role expand, as she was recruited to be a defensive specialist by Ce- darville’s former coaching staff. “I want to keep working hard to develop as a player and keep earning a position on the court,” Beste said. “I want to be a person that coach can rely on to get the job done.” Cedarville would’ve finished in the top of the G-MAC if the second half of the season was the measuring stick. Obviously, that’s not the case. However, the Lady Jackets won 10 of their final 13 conference games. The strong finish to the season should put the conference on notice. Further, the Lady Jackets lose just two seniors (Wilker- son and Faith Ferris, who had 157 kills), so they’ll maintain most of their depth and ex- perience from this season. Smith said he liked what he saw from this year’s team and will have higher expec- tations for 2019. “It was a success in the fact that they never quit,” Smith said. “It was a success in the fact that the second half of the season was 11-7 and there were a lot of positives to take out of it. I’m looking for us to be a lot better.” Beste was more bold in her predictions for next season, saying the entire conference should be on notice of the Lady Jackets. “I want to win the G-MAC and I know without a doubt we have the ability to do so,” Beste said. “They better watch out for us because we are just getting started.” TimMiller is a junior marketing major and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys hav- ing a baby face, knowing too much about supplemental insurance, and striving to perfect the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson. Photo by Scott Huck Cedarville was one of the best teams in the G-MAC to close the season. They were 11-7 in the second half of the season to finish 13-18 in Greg Smith’s first year as coach.