Ruilin FuIf you asked Pandas Volleyball Head Coach Laurie Eisler what her starting lineup was going to look like at season’s end last year, it would likely bear no resemblance to the squad that took the court last weekend.
With injuries to All-Star outside hitter Meg Casault and middle Jess Stroud, as well as the departure of middle Dione Lang and right side Josie Doerfler at the end of last season, a new-look Pandas roster took to the Savile Centre floor. Despite this, the Pandas still managed to close out two match wins against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack.
Friday’s match was a tightly contested affair that saw Pandas fourth year outside and first time starter Karly Janssen lead her team to a 3-1 win. The Edmonton native pounded 16 kills and added six digs. The Pandas edged the Wolfpack in hitting percentage, as well as minimizing errors to eke out a win in the hotly contested match.
“We had a really good preseason and practiced a lot against other teams,” Janssen said. “But coming into this is a different kind of volleyball, there’s different pressure in league play.”
Though they were without two starters in Casault and Stroud, their replacements stepped up admirably to fill their shoes. Kirsten Peters poured in 10.5 points from Casault’s outside spot, and Gbemisola Olutogun added an identical figure from Stroud’s middle position.
“We’ve got a lot of fight in our team,” Janssen said, “we’re not going to give up just because we might lose a couple points. We don’t have to depend on one player, everyone on this team provides something.”
Saturday’s match saw the Pandas settle into their new roles, as team error counts plummeted and the Pandas played much tighter volleyball. Outhitting TRU by a margin of .260 to .115, the Pandas also managed to get their block on many more of TRU’s attacks. Keying in on the Wolfpack’s Iuliia Pakhomenko, the Pandas managed to silence the arm 6’3” Ukrainian import with solid defense and blocking. Though they managed to grind out a straight-sets victory, there was more bad news for the Pandas at the end of the third set.
With the score at 23-23, first year outside Tessa Hill went down with a knee injury, forcing Eisler to make a triple substitution at a key point in the match. In the end, the Pandas managed to close out the set to the tune of 26-24, and Eisler was quick to credit her squad’s depth for the win.
“[Our depth] has really been tested this year,” Eisler said. “We’ve been dealing with a lot of adversity. We have two great first years, and it’s great to have the ability to go deeper into the lineup if need be.”
The Pandas will get a much-needed bye next week, as their banged-up team will get a chance to recover. However, Eisler says their focus is already on their Oct. 30 and 31 meetings with Mount Royal University.
“We just want to win,” Eisler said, “in Canada West, you just have to take it a weekend at a time, and the most important opponent is the one in front of you.”
