This past weekend, Friday, Sept. 9, the Newman women’s volleyball team played at the New Victorian Inn and Suites/Runza Fall Classic against Black Hills State in Kearney, Neb.
What makes this game important is that the team set a NCAA Division II record for the most points scored in a set. In the fourth set the team scored 39 points, which is quite high considering a set normally ends at 25 points. According to Head Volleyball Coach Destiny Clark, “Neither team could string together two points in a row to end the set so we just traded back and forth,” thus propelling the Jets to gain the unprecedented record.
During the strenuous fourth set, many players had to stay in multiple rotations and play certain positions they were not accustomed to normally playing. Since the set was so long there were not any substitutes left to insert into the game, along with no timeouts.
Needless to say, the Jets performed incredibly well under pressure and showed they are capable of handling matches when abnormal situations arise.
Clark explained that at the time, “We were more excited to have won the fourth set and go to a fifth set than we were about setting an NCAA Division II record with the highest scoring set. You really don’t want to have scored 39 points in a set and then lose the match.”
Thankfully, the woman’s volleyball team did not lose the match. After the fourth set was finished, they were tied with the number of sets won; therefore, a fifth set – which is played to 15 points – was successfully won 15-13.
Clark spoke highly of the perseverance her team exhibited and expressed how proud she is of her team for achieving a new record while still winning the game.
