After a strong, winning performance against Lake Erie on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Oberlin volleyball team has hit a slump, losing three straight conference matches 0-3 to Wittenberg University on Sept. 22, Earlham College on Sept. 23 and Denison University on Sept. 26.

Coming out of the Lake Erie game in which the Yeowomen won 3-0, it seemed that the team had gained a new momentum and were set to put up a good showing this year in the NCAC. Wittenberg proved a worthy opponent, however, entering the game 2-0 already in conference play. The Yeowomen started out slow, going down early 0-7. Wittenberg continued to dominate the first game, winning 14-30, but Oberlin found its rhythm in the second and third games. Despite losing 22-30 and 21-30, respectively, Oberlin showed it could compete with a top team.

The Yeowomen did not have long to dwell on the Wittenberg game, with another conference match up against Earlham the following day. Oberlin’s woes continued, as Earlham walked away the winners of three straight games, 13-30, 18-30 and 21-30.

After the discouraging Wittenberg game and a performance that Head Coach Carey Cavanaugh described as “below average” against Earlham, the Oberlin College volleyball team left the court disappointed.

Rather than hanging their heads after the two previous losses, the Yeowomen showed new signs of life against Denison on Tuesday, Sept. 26. High spirits and a strong morale were regained despite dropping the first game 14-30. Just when it looked as if it could be another large victory for Denison, Oberlin stepped up their play and put up a good fight, keeping the scores extremely close in the second game. Oberlin was up 20-18 and managed to lead 30-29 late in the game. Denison, however, regained their advantage with two quick kills.

Oberlin struggled to muster a serious comeback in the final game after their heroics in the previous nailbiting game, and lost 14-30.

Regardless of the Yeowomens 0-3 loss, the fans left Philips gymnasium in high spirits as Oberlin had shown that it is a positive team and can compete well against any opposition.

“We need to be more consistent and try to put our strong plays everywhere instead of having good plays in only a few places,” commented coach Cavanaugh.

Coach Cavanaugh made these remarks after the Denison game and few will argue about the truth in her words. Inconsistency has hurt the Oberlin volleybal team; they hope to come together and overcome this obstacle in the weeks to come.

Oberlin volleyball fans are eagerly awaiting a solid performance from their beloved, enthusiastic team as the Yeowomen take on tough competition this upcoming weekend.

The team will travel to Kenyon College on Sept. 29 for a 7 p.m. game and will play Ohio Wesleyan University on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.