Utah Tech University’s women’s volleyball team claimed a strong victory over Abilene Christian University, uniting the campus community during Homecoming Week.
The match was Oct. 23 at the Burns Arena, where students and the community came to root for the team. Utah Tech led most of the four sets and showed its strengths in serving and defending.
“If we can move the ball and get them out of rhythm, it helps us to defend,” head coach Camilla Hafoka said. “If we can serve well, then we will be in a better position to score points.”
The second, third and fourth sets ended with the defeat of Abilene Christian, holding scores 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23. During the first set, Abilene Christian won 25-27. The final set scores for both teams were 3-1, with the success of Utah Tech.
Hafoka described the team victory as a slow but confident win.
“I think we started off slow, but I am proud of how they [the team] responded after we lost the first set,” Hafoka said. “They got a little bit more locked in, and they were able to do their jobs and then continue doing that.”
When pointing out the key moments of the game, Hafoka said trust played a big role in the success of the team.
“I think [the team is] starting to trust each other again, and that is a huge factor for us,” Hafoka said. “We are trusting each other, and that is what they did today.”
After the win, the Trailblazers reflected on their performance during the match.
“I think our defense went well,” Taylor Snow, a senior criminal justice major from Salem, said. “ We had a lot of blocking, and I feel like our right sides did well also with their offense.”
Emery Harrison, a sophomore exercise science major from Cedar City, said that trust was a key to their success.
“I think I just trusted my team,” Harrison said. “I knew that they had my back, and that if I did my job, then it would make it easier for them to play.”
The match with Abilene Christian helped Utah Tech’s team prepare for the next game and future wins. Utah Tech University will have its next game Oct. 25 against Utah Valley University.
“It [the match] gives them confidence,” Hafoka said. “You know, obviously we have our top points scored out, so it just gives them a little bit more confidence moving forward.”
