So when Loyola (Md.) began taking away the deep corner Tuesday night, the volleyball team focused up the middle. When GW’s defense at the net was a step too slow, they tried to channel their opponents attack to their back line and libero Maddy Doyle. When, with a healthy lead, GW took the foot off the gas and allowed Loyola back in the game, they adjusted their mentality to close it out in four sets, 3-1, in their final game before the Atlantic 10 season begins.
“We do a really good job of getting out and getting lead but then we let them inch their way back,” said head coach Amanda Ault.”It’s kind of our Achilles heel right now.”
After 25-20 and 25-21 results in the first two sets, the Greyhounds took the third set 25-18. The Colonias had eight attacking errors, two service errors, a receiving error and a blocking error for 12 total in the third set, while Loyola had just five.
GW then began the next set on a 9-4 run, but allowed Loyola back in within a point at 14-13 before Ault took a timeout. Freshman Hanna Justesen blocked a ball leading to an attacking error from Loyola, starting a 5-1 run for the Colonials before the Greyhounds called time themselves.
“We stopped talking which is our biggest flaw, we have to be able to communicate,” Justesen said. “It started with the pass, the passes broke down. And then once we got it past the pass the setting broke down and then the hitting broke down so it’s just like a domino effect.”
Loyola would save two match points, but Justesen got the final kill of the night to end it 25-21, putting GW at 10-5 heading into Friday night’s matchup with George Mason.
Justesen had a breakout game with 12 kills, two service aces and nine digs, that Ault said made a good case for the rookie to move into the starting lineup.
“It was just kind of changing the shots that I could do to get us points because some people’s hits just weren’t falling,” Justesen said.
Justesen and Aaliya Davidson, both outside hitters, combined for 26 kills which is the type of production the Colonials are hoping to get from the outsides. Their productivity helped middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu open up for 14 kills, tying Davidson for the team high, while hitting .478.
The Colonials hit .276 for the match to Loyola’s .226, so enough shots did fall. The Greyhounds had size at the net, particularly on the pins where most of their offense came from, but the Colonials made do by outblocking Loyola 6-5 and out-digging them 48-44.
Freshman Alexis Lete also chipped in three valuable kills with no errors for a .375 hitting percentage, and also brought a distinct energy to the court that impressed Ault. Her engine seemed to help get the team back on track after the third set, when Justesen said the team became so concerned with encouraging each other that players neglected their own assignments.
Even with a new opponent to game plan for, tweaking the X’s and O’s will be less important than making the mental adjustments necessary for the team to reach its potential in the A-10 season. With a clean slate, GW starts fresh when the Patriots visit the Smith Center Friday at 7 p.m.
