After another tough weekend, Plattsburgh State volleyball must learn and look ahead in order to attain success.
The Cardinals (4-12, 0-6 SUNYAC) dropped three matches this past weekend against Brockport, Buffalo, and New Paltz. But their season is not yet over, and they still have room to learn from their misfortunes, improve and grow.
Seasons tend to be measured on wins and losses, but PSUC is a young team with a new coach at the helm, so a season without too many wins is not necessarily a sign of lacking or ability in the coach or the players.
Senior Maggie Schrantz explained some of the trials and tribulations that come along with these situations, including the scheduling issues that arise from swapping coaches between seasons.
“We missed our first tournament and we have had two weekends off already,” Schrantz said. “Also, many of the teams we are playing against have played a lot more games than us.”
Less experience this season for an overall inexperienced team has resulted in a less-than-perfect record.
Meghan Clifford sympathized with her teammate about circumstances that have hurt the Cards this season.
“We try to cheer each other on and cheer each other up,” Clifford said. “If someone shanks a pass we explain that it is OK.”
Even with this positive attitude Clifford and the team try to maintain, it is not always easy.
Another issue in addition to maintaining a positive attitude that has plagued PSUC all season is a lack of consistency.
“Our lack of consistency definitely hurts,” head coach Jake Bluhm said. “There are times we do things very, very well and other times when we look lost. Trying to find the balance where we can stay consistent is crucial.”
Schrantz said the same, saying gaining consistency is the team’s goal.
“We stick with a team for the first half of the game, and then the other team will get a few service runs,” Schrantz said. “After that we are pretty much out of it for the rest of the game.”
This weekend the Cards will face Utica, Canton and Clarkson, the team hosting the tournament. Clarkson is currently ranked in the top 20 in the country, boasting a 22-3 record. Bluhm is confident PSUC can come out of this weekend with a win, which would snap its current eight-match losing streak.
“We are playing a couple of really good teams and teams that we can definitely win against,” Bluhm said. “If we play well and confident like we can, we can do good things and win.”
Email Bailey Carlin at bailey.carlin@cardinalpointsonline.com.
