The IUS volleyball team came out strong and won 3-0 against Midway College on Sept. 22.
The Grenadiers controlled the court well and held off Midway through three matches, defeating the Eagles by scores of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-20.
Midway played strong in the third set but could not match the Grenadiers’ strength on the court.
Standout players of the night were IUS freshman Lindsey Maymon, outside hitter, and IUS senior Vanessa Stauble, middle blocker, with a total 24 out of IU Southeast’s 38 kills.
Head coach of the Grenadiers, Lesley Drury-Prather said she was happy about the motivation in her team.
“I think that they came out fighting,” Drury-Prather said.
Drury-Prather said the team has been focusing on different practice techniques using game situations to keep the team motivated.
“The past couple of games we have struggled with that,” Drury-Prather said. “But I was really proud tonight.”
Drury-Prather said a meeting during the week prior to the game helped the team reinforce motivation through the game.
“We played much better than we have,” Drary-Prather said.
The team’s practices have been rigorous prior to the game.
“We like to work on game situation. We also do a lot of individual skills. It keeps the intensity up and carries over to the game,” Drury-Prather said.
Stacey Flatt, elementary education senior and IUS volleyball setter, was very pleased with the outcome of the game. During the game against Midway, Flatt had three service aces to help secure the Grenadiers’ victory against Midway.
“It was really good. We’ve been working all week encouraging each other and being up,” Flatt said.
Flatt said the focus for the team was better in this game compared to prior matches.
“We came with a lot of heart today and really focused and did what we needed to do to win,” Flatt said.
Drury- Prather said keeping the morale intense during practice carries over into the game and the team has seen a lot of improvement with this tactic.
“Even when you make a mistake, we’re teaching to just shake it off and move onto the next play,” Drury-Prather said.
A weakness both the coach and players saw in IU Southeast’s performance was missing serves.
“They miss too many serves,” Drury-Prather said. “We’ll definitely be working on that.”
A new addition to the IUS volleyball team is assistant coach and Drury-Prather’s sister, Sarah Drury-Petkovic.
“She has a ton of knowledge that she brings to the game. The girls are learning a lot from her,” Drury-Prather said.
Players said they saw a great difference this season with the new coaches and are feeling better about the game.
The Grenadiers are now 7-7 overall and 1-0 in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Although Midway is a KIAC team this was not a conference game for the Grenadiers.
The KIAC conference season is a single round-robin.
IU Southeast will be playing Midway two more times this season, with the final game being a conference match on Oct. 20 at Midway.
The Grenadiers’ next home match is against St. Catharine College on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Activities Building.
IU Southeast’s next conference game is on Oct. 6.
By JESSICA MEYER
Staff Writer
jessmeye@ius.edu