Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Volleyball blasts Simmons

After spirited introductions, the energetic team rolled to a 3-0 victory over Simmons College last Thursday, stetching a win streak to seven matches.,The music blared as the Emerson’s women’s volleyball team went about their pre-game warm-up. If it would be any indication of how the match would play out, it looked as if the Lions would secure yet another win.

After spirited introductions, the energetic team rolled to a 3-0 victory over Simmons College last Thursday, stetching a win streak to seven matches.

The contest opened with two close games, but ended with Emerson putting a win away easily. Junior captain and marketing communications major Molly Soboroff said her team was more than prepared for the evening’s match.

“We knew we were on a roll and we wanted to keep it going,” Soboroff said. “We were really focused.”

The first game was chock-full of streaks. Emerson opened with three straight points on its own serve, including two aces. Simmons then took the lead 5-7, but Emerson came back to hold onto the game until Simmons battled back to tie at 23 points. Emerson then killed a hard serve from Simmons to stop the bleeding.

From there, the two teams fought until the end, but it was Emerson that came out on top, closing the game with an ace from Soboroff and winning by a score of 30-28.

The second game proved to be equally close, with neither team able to gain much momentum. Emerson took a good lead late in the game, going up 27-21, but nearly lost it as Simmons valiantly battled back into contention. Although they faced a scare, Emerson won the second game, 30-27.

Coach Craig Letourneau credited the Simmons team for its hard play in the first two games, but also said that the closeness was partly due to his own team’s sloppy play.

“They were a scrappy team and we had 22 hitting errors in the first two games combined,” Letourneau said. “That limits what you can do.”

Game three was all about the Lions. After being down early, they scored seven straight points to take the lead and they never looked back. While the first two games could have gone either way, the Lions dominated in the third, winning 30-15.

Simmons had played hard throughout the match, but as the third game went on they were simply unable to counter the hard attacks from Emerson.

Letourneau credited his team’s physical prowess as a main component to winning the final match with more ease.

“We wore them down,” Letourneau said. “We are a strong team and we just let them have it.”

He also cited their strategy in the final game as a difference.

“They had a good back line, so in the final game we served short, keeping the ball away from them and forcing them to move up to the net,” he said.

Emerson will be challenged in its effort to extend its winning streak as its schedule takes them on the road for the next seven matches, the first of which ended in a 2-3 loss to UMass-Boston on Tuesday night.

Letourneau said he would like to see his team continue to improve in the technical aspects of the game, including hitting their spots on the court.

As for the team’s success this season, Soboroff reasoned that even though they had a new coach and many new players, the team is meshing extremely well.

“We are giving a consistent effort and attitude,” Soboroff said. “We are all on the same page.”

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