The Umpqua Community College women’s volleyball team defeated Simpson University in convincing fashion Monday, Oct. 17, 26-28, 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 at the Riverhawks Nest in Roseburg, Oregon. With the win, UCC moved their overall record to 20-17 and continue their season with confidence as UCC has multiple conference games coming in the near future.
The Riverhawk ladies started off slow against the Red Hawks but kept it competitive in the first set. Head coach Lacy Pinard made a lineup change in the second set, adding middle blocker Cheyenne Chambers into the mix. Chambers’ enthusiasm sparked the team’s chemistry and the team didn’t look back, taking the next three sets to win the game. Libero Kaysie Cornelio had this to say about Chambers’ enthusiasm, “We all feed off of her energy. We use that to push and execute.”
As a team, the Riverhawks hit .197 while limiting the Red Hawks to .108. Outside hitter Olivia Gulliford had an astonishing 18 kills on 28 total attempts. Defensively, Cornelio had an astounding 26 digs. Right side hitter Marie Garcia also had an impressive 27 assists respectively.
When asked about the season as a whole so far, Pinard said, “We started very strong. We have a lot to put forth. The team is in the middle of a metamorphosis. We’re at a point where we need to change to keep playing at a competitive level.” When asked how the team can improve after the win, Pinard said, “There are good wins and bad wins. There are good losses and bad losses. We developed over the whole game. We played Simpson before this year and it reminds the girls if you don’t come out ready to play any team can beat you. We need to be competitive from the moment we wake up.” Cornelio was asked what could be taken away from the win and said, “It’s a great way to go into the second half of league.”
Looking forward, UCC has a string of five league games coming up. Their next game is against Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. UCC’s next home game will be played against Chemeketa Community College on Friday, Oct. 28. The game against Chemeketa will be UCC’s “Dig Pink” game to show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.