After ending last season with a 10-match losing streak, volleyball Head Coach Katie Reifert said the team changed its strategies and training this offseason in hopes of improving their record.
The team finished the year with an overall 7-22 record and a 4-14 record against Atlantic 10 opponents, placing ninth out of 10 teams. The team struggled primarily with their defense, ranking last in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .247 and ninth in opponent kills, allowing an average of 13.10 per set.
Reifert said defense was the team’s primary focus this offseason due to its struggles stopping opponent attacks, which gave them few scoring opportunities.
“So when we did hit the ball, it was pretty good, but we weren’t doing that enough because of our defense or because of our passing,” Reifert said. “So we really focused there this past spring and then to really bring that into the fall. And that looks better.”
The team was fourth in the conference in hitting percentage with .200, a slight improvement from the .195 hitting percentage in the 2022 season, when the team finished 18-15.
Reifert said the team uses individual drills and team simulations in practices because she wants to sharpen individual skills while ensuring her players are comfortable in match settings.
After struggling to control opponents’ attacks last season, Reifert said she wants to see her team be the aggressor this year and put the other team’s defense on their heels.
“We’ve been taking that theme with our serving, with our offense,” Reifert said. “It’s really just trying to figure out how to give the other team across the net a really hard time. Rather than focusing on stopping the other team, focusing on us and our offense and how our offense is going to stop them.”
This summer, the team welcomed six new players: five freshmen and one transfer student.
Transfer and graduate libero Reilly Heinrich joins the Revolutionaries from the University of Texas, who won the NCAA National Championship in 2022 and 2023. She played in 39 matches across her four-year career with the Longhorns, picking up 36 digs. GW ranked ninth in the A-10 in digs last season, averaging 13.25 per set.
“SO excited for the opportunity to play for @GW_Volleyball and get my masters from @gwbusiness this next year,” Heinrich said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in June.
In addition to Heinrich, Reifert said she’s excited about the team’s freshmen class and that they have quickly adapted to both the team’s values and playing style.
“We’ve got a fantastic freshman class,” Reifert said. “They have come in and embraced being a part of this culture, taking this culture on their shoulders, rather than just being wallflowers or sitting in the background.”
Entering her third year as head coach, Reifert said she understands that there are expectations to start winning matches, with the goal always being the A-10 championship title.
In 2022, Reifert’s first year as coach, the team improved from its 2-25 record from the year prior to make the tournament. There, they beat Saint Louis 3-1 in their first match before losing to Loyola Chicago in five sets in the semifinals.
Reifert said that entering last season, the team set goals to match the improvement and success of 2022 but ultimately failed to do so. She said that this offseason, the team has worked on managing expectations and learning to play well under pressure.
“This past spring, we’ve been working a lot on setting an expectation and then meeting that expectation and feeling the pressure and inviting that pressure,” Reifert said. “That’s been really fun. It’s been really fun challenging them in that way and seeing their growth.”
The team opens their regular season Friday, when they welcome UC Riverside to the Smith Center at 6 p.m. for their first home match, the first of three in the D.C. Showdown.
