Cedars, December 2019

December 2019 11 SPORTS Cedarville Volleyball Takes Step in the Right Direction by Tim Miller I n head coach Greg Smith’s first season with the Cedarville Lady Jackets volley- ball team in 2018, his squad limped to a 2-11 start. Smith was a late hire and didn’t get a chance to get to know his new team in the offseason. However, with a full offseason under his belt and some of his own recruits enter- ing the lineup, the Lady Jackets started the 2019 season with a sweep over Northwood, and played competitively in losses to re- gionally ranked Anderson and Indianapolis. Cedarville went on to go 16-11 and fin- ished fourth in the G-MAC with a record of 8-4. Though they made it to the conference tournament yet again, they were ousted by No. 4 Kentucky Wesleyan in four sets, which effectively ended the Lady Jackets season. Individually, sophomore junior out- side hitter Liene Miller (430 kills, con- ference single-game record 30 kills) and junior middle hitter Lauren Willow (253 kills) were each named to the all-confer- ence team. “It was a really good year,” Smith said. “With Lauren and Liene first-team all G-MAC, it was a good ending. We beat re- gionally ranked teams and played some re- ally good volleyball.” And while the Lady Jackets won three more matches than last season, and lost seven fewer, Smith said the record doesn’t tell the whole story of the Lady Jackets’ im- provement. While Smith recognized injuries to key players (Willow, junior setter Sierra Schuitema) may have held them back, he said there were still wins left on the floor in some matches this season. Further, even with a better winning percentage, Smith argued Cedarville did this against better opposition than was faced in 2018. “It’s more about the quality of compe- tition you played,” Smith said. “Yes, the re- cord definitely improved, but our quality of play was what told me we improved more than anything.” On top of close matches with Anderson and Indy, the Lady Jackets also beat region- ally ranked Bellarmine, Northern Michigan (16 NCAA Tournament appearances), and forced nationally ranked Michigan Tech into four sets in a losing effort. “We beat some pretty good teams,” freshman Mallory Delamarter said. “And when we did, we all played as a unit and had a passion that was evident to those that were watching.” The Lady Jackets, led by Miller and Willow, boasted two of the best hitters in the G-MAC this season. Miller turned it on after redshirting last season and seeing meager playing time two seasons ago, while Willow picked up where she left off last sea- son as an all-conference standout. Schuitema, too, Smith mentioned, en- joyed another solid season with the Lady Jackets. The Grant, Michigan native had 899 assists and 218 digs in 2019. “Sierra did a tremendous job of of set- ting,” Smith said. “She ran down a ton of balls when the passing wasn’t there. She re- ally worked hard verbally and led by exam- ple by playing hard the whole time.” Luckily for the Lady Jackets, all three of the aforementioned players will be back in uniform next season. Further, they lose just one consistent player from this season in graduating middle hitter Brooke Blattner (153 kills in 100 sets). Smith said he recognizes one hole from the Lady Jackets. While the Lady Jackets took advantage of the hitting abilities of Miller and Willow, there was a shortage of depth behind those two stars. Sophomore outside hitter Sara Beste was the only oth- er player who had more than 100 kills in 2019. Above all, though, Smith noted the integrity that the Lady Jackets had on the floor. He wasn’t the only one to notice it, he said, as other teams and fans have be- come accustomed to the Lady Jacket cul- ture. “Our team is unlike any other team than I have been a part of, “Delamarter said. “Our main goal is to compete for Christ. We all want to push each other to not only be better volleyball players but also to become better women of God and sisters in Christ.” Smith said the heart his players have for their opponents gives them an easy av- enue to talk about the Gospel. “It’s very uncommon, which sets us apart from everyone else,” Smith said. “It opens the door to share why we do what we do. When people see why you do what you do, it’s pretty cool.” After contemplating on the season, Smith was clearly pleased with how much his team improved from 2018, as well as the team’s overall demeanor. He said the 2020 Lady Jackets should garner regional attention. “I expect to be way better than we were this year,” Smith said. “I think knowing that we can compete but we can beat really good teams. I think we’re going to be in the hunt for the conference title and to make the NCAA Tournament.” TimMiller is a senior Marketing major, ed- itor-in-chief and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys having a baby face, knowing too much about health insurance, and striv- ing to perfect the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson. Photo by Carrie Bergan Brooke Blattner (8) will be the most costly subtraction heading into the 2020 season after producing a second-best .238 attack percantage. Photo by Carrie Bergan The Lady Jackets won their highest percentage of matches since 2016 this year.