Kyle Keck | Echo
The Taylor volleyball team's hot streak was extinguished last night in its home opener.
Taylor played its first Crossroads League game on Wednesday against Grace College, which resulted in a 3-0 loss for the Trojans.
Excitement filled Odle Arena as the Trojans started Crossroads League play at home. But when excitement looms, pre-game nerves tend to set in. Crossroads League Player of the Week, junior Julia Willey, led the team with 27 assists and 13 digs but could still sense the nervous tension on the court.
"In the first set, I think some of our players were fighting the nerves of our first home match and we didn't play with the confidence that we had in preseason," Willey said. "Our energy and joy also struggled, and we lacked the overall fight we have been playing with so far."
Fighting nerves was not the only problem the Trojans faced. Taylor struggled with its serve receive, allowing seven total aces. Head coach Holly Motheral noticed how it became an obstacle that her team needed to overcome.
"Our serve receive definitely wasn't where it was this past weekend," Motheral said. "As the match continued, our serve receive stepped up, and we were able to get the ball to our setter and run our offense. Serve receive is very important, and it's what gets our offense going, so we need to be able to pass the ball well to be successful."
Trying to find the good within the bad is never an easy task. But one thing that stood out was the rising force of sophomore Kelly Arnold, who led the team with 10 kills. Although the loss was tough to swallow, Arnold is confident in the team's ability to bounce back.
"It's always hard coming off a disappointing loss, but with that we come away with some great lessons," Arnold said. "We can't expect to just roll over teams because everyone is coming out for us. Most importantly, we need to play for each other and as the TUVB motto says 'For Him, we play to win!'"
To say the Trojans have been successful to this point would be an understatement. Taylor is now 8-2 on the season, coming off an impressive tournament performance in Florida, where it took down No. 3-ranked Wayland Baptist. It is obvious that Taylor means business, and Motheral is convinced that this team has the potential to be something special.
"This past weekend at the Embry Riddle Labor Day Tournament, we saw what we are capable of," Motheral said. "Beating the No. 3 team in the nation took a lot of hard work, mental focus, teamwork and minimizing our errors. If we are able to do those things against conference teams, we will be in great shape."
The Trojans hit the road next week as they face Huntington in a Crossroads League battle on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
