Ten victories. That is what the Ranger volleyball women have achieved: ten wins in a row. Even though that is better that last year, it still isn’t enough to some. Athletes always strive for better that the best, and that is exactly what the volleyball is team is doing.
Northwestern won 3-1 against Southern Arkansas on Saturday at the Percefull Fieldhouse. Kaitlyn Robinson, a freshman, led the team. She had 51 assists, which was one short of breaking the 2013 school record.
“Oh, I wanted that [record] so bad!” Robinson said. “I didn’t even know during the game, but afterwards whenever I saw the stats, I saw how close I was. I really wanted it, so it kind of hit hard, but maybe one day.”
Along with that goal to someday beat the Northwestern record, her team also hopes to get a ring at the GAC tournament. To do that the team has had to become closer.
“Everyone is trying to work on being a good teammate to each other and being proud of everyone else’s success,” she said. “Being someone that everyone can depend on, being that person that coach needs us to be, and that the school really needs us to be.”
Robinson is a key player as a freshman. “Coming in as a freshman, and having the center position, it really is up to me to keep the hitters going,” she said. “I have to give them a ball that they can get a point off of and putdown. So it really is up to me to keep all that going, and have that pressure on my shoulders all the time.”
To prepare for the pressure of a game Robinson said she keeps to herself in the locker room before a game. She said she tries to think of what she needs to do and have mental focus.
The team also has some other preparation they do before the game. They eat right, stretch and make sure the last practice before the game counts, Robinson said.With ten straight wins the team isn’t going to falter in this routine, and head coach Jeremy White, has a lot to due with the team’s success this year.
“I really want to attribute to coach White,” Robinson said. “He came in here a brand new coach, and he has set the tone and intensity levels. He is always encouraging us to match his intensity, and be up at his level. He will never be satisfied with how good we are doing. ‘We are doing great right now, but we can do better’ mentality.”
The team has been successful, and to keep it out of their heads they plan to continue on with White’s mentality. “We are going to keep being confident and not worry about the win/loss column,” she said. “We are just focusing on our side of the court and what we can do to be better and win every single game.”