Juniors Suzana Manole and Julie Jahnke were arm in arm after their volleyball defeat against Temple in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Friday afternoon in Philadelphia.
They walked around the court and thanked a few GW fans who made the pilgrimage to McGonigle Hall during Thanksgiving break. These were kind, genuine gestures from players who had just lost one of the more intense matches they had ever experienced.
Now, I’m not one to write columns on volleyball. Let’s face it, it’s basketball season now, the sport that gives GW some national exposure. But if you were able to see the volleyball team this season, just for one match, you saw a winning team worthy of attention. The Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Cup ranks the conference’s universities in athletics. Thus far, it tells us that through the fall sports season, GW is second to last. If it weren’t for the volleyball team’s strong performance this season, and a little help from Fordham, GW might be in last place.
What made this volleyball team stand out was that it never quit this season. The team’s co-captain and setter Jill Levey went down with a broken left foot during the stretch run. Senior Gabriela Mojska and junior Renee Arnold had early season leg injuries that they had to overcome. The team entered the season with a new head coach, Yvette Moorehead, whose calm demeanor worked well enough to lead the team to the postseason. And after a four-year playoff drought, GW found a way to make it to the A-10 Tournament.
They entered Philadelphia as the road team, not like Xavier and Rhode Island, which battled each other on what would be called a neutral site. GW faced Temple, the defending A-10 champions, this season’s regular season champions and the team GW lost to twice already this season. And despite what the statistics might say, GW was just as good as Temple. What kept this team in the match, what allowed this team to at times dominate the match was the heart and intensity displayed by its leaders – Mojska and Manole. They were not intimidated.
I will admit that after two years of watching this team, I wanted them to win. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know some players such as Gabi and Suzana over the past few seasons and the volleyball conversations we’ve had have been quite intense. Often times when reporters cover a team, they’re looked at as a critic, and rightfully so. It’s our job to tell the story, the good, the bad and most importantly – the truth. And the truth is this team is composed of winning people, passionate about their sport and proud of their accomplishments.
The fact of the matter is GW lost the first two games to Temple Friday and just didn’t have enough to fully recover in the end. I did question the coaching tactics at times, such as why Moorehead seemed to just sit and watch her team get crushed in an important first game – an opener in which GW needed to establish itself.
Down two games, GW found a way to win game three. A Mojska serve, a Jahnke block, a Tracee Brown kill and the team that fought its way to Philadelphia fought its way back against Temple. In a fourth game that saw GW storm out to a 4-0 lead, the momentum was in GW’s favor. The defending champions looked weak, overwhelmed – like a second-place team. And if it weren’t for a bad call that undeniably went against the Colonial women, giving Temple a crucial point, I believe the momentum might have carried GW to a fifth and final game. And then who knows what the outcome might have been.
But it never happened, and what was expected – a Temple victory – was what took place. At the end of the contest last week, I sat there in the scattered crowd, like I have done for two years. I watched the team show itself after an emotional match. Julie and Suzana waved to the fans, appreciative of their fans’ support throughout the season.
The real appreciation should be directed toward the players. To the seniors, Gabi Mojska for her sheer competitiveness and post-game humor, and Theresa Ridder, who flew across the baseline many times over her career in pursuit of a needed defensive dig. The rest of the team will return next year, a little more fine-tuned and one giant experienced step ahead of where it was last season.
But I couldn’t get enough of the thanks the team expressed to its fans last week for all their support. If you’ve never followed GW volleyball, you should start next season. And if you have been already, you’ve certainly been watching one of GW’s finer sports programs. This team deserves nothing less than a congratulations for its hard-fought, winning season.
