In what has become an all too familiar sight, the Oberlin College volleyball team lost all four of its matches this week.
Despite the fact that the team fought hard on the court, there are still some feelings of uncertainty toward the team’s effort on the court.
“At times we put effort forth but then at times we don’t. I don’t know what causes the lapses, if it is desire, fear or fatigue,” junior captain Amber Coleman said.
On Saturday, in what was only their fifth home contest of the year, the Yeowomen hosted a conference doubleheader with the Fighting Scots of the College of Wooster and the Tigers of Wittenberg University.
In the opening match of the day, the Yeowomen appeared sluggish and overwhelmed, losing to the Scots in three consecutive games by the scores of 30-25, 30-17 and 30-19.
In the day’s second match, Oberlin faced Wittenberg, which was ranked 13th in latest Division III national rankings. Realizing that this was a prime time for an upset, the Tigers came out firing with their starters and took an early one game to zero lead by capturing the first game of the match, 30-10. With this in mind, the Yeowomen were poised to show that they were capable of competing against one of the best teams in the conference, if not the country. The Yeowomen lost the match but put out a better effort and better play in the latter two games losing, 30-15 and 30-16.
With those two losses, Oberlin slid to 1-23 on the season and 0-5 in North Coast Athletic Conference action.
On Monday evening, the Yeowomen traveled to the east side of Cleveland to face the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University. The Yeowomen came out slow, but then after a 30-22 second game victory, the team felt they could snap their thirteen game losing streak. Oberlin played very well in the third and fourth games but fell in both, 30-23.
“I feel that we have improved physically, however, we don’t play to our full potential as a unit. We need mental improvement; when we get that, watch out,” Coleman explained.
On Wednesday night, Oberlin took the floor again, this time facing the Gators of Allegheny College. In the first game, Oberlin appeared overwhelmed and lost 30-20. In the second game, Allegheny used an eight to four run to close out the second game of the match, and defeated Oberlin, 30-27. The Yeowomen then hit the wall during the third game, coming out flat and tense, falling 30-20 in the final game of the match.
With the week’s competition at an end, Oberlin now has a record of 1-25 and 0-6 in NCAC action.
This weekend, the Yeowomen will face two non-conference opponents when they host D’Youville University and La Roche College for their final home tournament of the season.
“I love volleyball,” Coleman said. “This season has been trying, though, but I love my team and that makes the frustration subside some. However I don’t expect anything less than the best so it may seem like I am really mean and intense after it’s over or that I hate it, but it’s basically because I believe we are better than this.”