The slow start to the volleyball season for the St. Vincent Indians has begun to turn around, as the team has now won 3 of their last 5 matches as of Sept. 21.
The Indians picked up wins over Portageville, Crystal City, and Festus over the last week.
According to head coach Sue Verseman, the team has focused on fundamentals and tightening up the basics, especially offensively, and from there, everything else has started to improve.
“We really have been focusing to the girls that we have to quit making offensive errors,” Verseman said. “We had a lot of offensive errors the first couple of weeks of the season, and they’re really doing a good job of turning those errors into playable balls, which has made a big difference.”
Verseman also said the general attitude of the team has changed recently, which has led to more effort from both starters and backups.
“We really stressed that even if you’re not on the court, we need some energy from the bench and we need to be supportive of each other,” Verseman said. “They have really stepped up their teamwork and effort.”
Verseman said the coaching staff is still committed to trying different lineups and configurations within the starting squad. She said this has allowed them to be a more well rounded team with everyone contributing at every position.
We kind of have two spots open still in the hitting that we’ve been playing around with different players and they’re really stepping up and pushing each other to try to win those spots yet,” she said. “In the past we’ve had only a couple of attackers really making points for us and last week it was a much more well rounded effort from all. It’s kind of a unique situation, but it’s working for us.”
A trio of regular season home matches are coming up for St. Vincent before their next tournament action. The Indians will look to keep the turnaround going as they host Grandview.
