Rams Win 1st of Four Home Games This Week

September 23rd

Tuesday, Shepherd Volleyball hosted Shippensburg University in a match at the Butcher Center. Shepherd won 3-0, though, not easily. The teams were good competition for each other.

Shepherd started out down in the first set 11-5, but back to back blocks from KJ Motheral, a kill from Val Bour, followed by a four serve streak from Bour as well picked Shepherd back up. With Shippensburg's lead diminishing, Taylor Allen, Motheral, and Bour played aggressive offense, bringing us up 21-20. Katie Beecher also contributed a kill. At 23-22, Shippensburg called a time out, after which Kayliegh Helgesen furthered the Ram's lead by using Shippensburg's block to her own advantage, tallying one more kill. Taylor Allen finished this close set off with a kill, leaving the score at 25-22, Rams.

The second set started off with a serving streak from Sam Scroggins, including one ace. The first kill of this set actually went to setter Taylor Belella, who crushed the ball defending the net after an overpass from Shippensburg. Helgesen continued to take advantage of the opposing block and Bour added a kill, making the score 6-1, Rams. Shippensburg called their first time out. Following the time out, Shepherd came out even more aggressive, with a kill from Motheral, two blocks and a kill from Helgesen, and a beautiful kill from the back row for Bour. With the score 8-4, some errors on Shepherd's side and strong plays from Shippensburg turned the momentum of the game for a bit, but two aces from Allen brought the Rams back ahead at 11-8. Later, Bour served three in a row to go up 18-15. Lauren Wilkins added another ace for the Rams. A kill from Allen, kill from Helgesen, and three errors on Shippensburg's side gave Shepherd their last five points, and the set ended at 25-21, Rams.

The score of the third set stayed tied or nearly tied for some time (1-1, 3-3, 5-5, 7-7), neither team really taking a lead for a while. During those first few points, Motheral and Bour put up a double block and Helgesen added another kill off the opponent's block. Scroggins served to bring us ahead 11-8; Shippensburg took a time out. Motheral and Bour continued to control the net, both adding two kills out of the time out. Bour tallied another ace for the Rams to bring the score up to 16-11. Middle hitter Motheral added another kill for the side out at 17-12. After losing the serve, other middle hitter Katie Beecher followed up with a kill for the side out at 18-13. Two aces from Kelsey Anderson for our 19th point drove Shippensburg to call another time out. A couple of good errors and good blocks from Shippensburg stumped the Rams for a minute, but Beecher brought us out of the minor slump with a kill for 21-6. Taylor Allen laid out for a nearly impossible save ("pancake"), and Valerie Bour finished off the play with a strong kill, bringing the score to 23-17. Bour also scored the 24th point for the Rams with a tricky tip just over the blockers. The game ended on an error from Shippensburg; score 25-18, Rams again.

With this victory, Shepherd is 7-4 this season and 2-0 in the MEC. There were three other home games later that week.

Rams play again Tuesday, September 30th at 7 PM.

Shepherd Goes 2-0 in MEC Conference

       

On Saturday, September 20th, the Rams hosted Concord University in a volleyball match at the Butcher Center. High from the previous night's win, Shepherd took control of all three sets for a clean 3-0 win.

Sam Scroggins began the first set with a three serve streak, including an ace. After a long volley, Rams sided out with a strong kill from Taylor Allen, allowing Kelsey Anderson the chance to start yet another serving streak. Valerie Bour contributed several key back row attacks, keeping the Rams ahead 10-5. After a few more points and a time out from Concord, Kayla Motheral scored two back to back points for Shepherd, adding a kill and a solo block. The middles seemed to be unstopable, with quick attacks from Katie Beecher, Motheral, and even Allen, tipping the ball right to the undefended center hole for Shepherd's 24th point. With the score 24-16, Beecher added a kill to take the first set for Shepherd.

The second set was much tighter between the two teams in the beginning, within two points for the majority of the set. Beecher was on fire, with back to back kills from quick middle attacks, slide attacks, and tips. Anderson had another great serving run including two aces. Allen and Bour continued to be strong players at the net, both offensively and defensively (blocking). Helgesen came alive in the second set, tallying several kills and a great double block with the assistance of Motheral. Taylor Bellela (Tabs), in addition to her tireless effort and assisting nearly every kill, scored a couple points herself from dumps and attacks. Motheral shielded the net, tallying another solo block for Shepherd's 22nd point, as well as a kill for our 23rd. Helgesen and Allen secured set two for the Rams with two more kills. Aggressive offense was definitely key in Shepherd's 25-19 win over Concord in the second set.

After Shepherd dug themselves a small hole to come back from, Scroggins served up three points for the Rams in the beginning of set three. Bour made back to back plays--a double block aided by Motheral, followed by a kill, and finally an ace serve. Helgesen swiped one off Concord's block to bring the score to 10-6. After a side out, Concord's #6 served a tough streak to put Concord up 13-12. Two kills from Beecher got Shepherd back in the lead (16-15). The two teams stayed neck and neck, siding out nearly every play. Kills from Helgesen, Beecher, and Allen allowed the Rams to take a small lead (22-20). A couple of errors from both sides and two beautiful kills from Bour ended the game, Shepherd 25-23. "It feels awesome," said Bour, "I love finishing off the game knowing that I helped my team."














This 3-0 win over Concord puts the Rams MEC record at 2-0 and overall record 6-4. Shepherd volleyball will play again on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Go Rams!
#RamBition


Also,
HAPPY 21ST VAL AND KJ!!

Rams Secure First Conference Win

  

On Friday, September 19th, at the Butcher Center, Shepherd University Volleyball hosted their first conference match against UVa-Wise. The Rams took a strong lead early and won the match 3-1.

Rams took a four point lead early in the first set. They played with aggression and matched UVa-W's energy plus more. Our superior setting (which turned into strong attacks) was clear from the beginning. Taylor Allen contributed several key kills for the Rams. They continued to pull ahead until they led 24-19. A few errors on our side allowed UVa-W some gain; however, they made an error to give us set point 25-22.

Shepherd came out very strong in set two. Valerie Bour placed a nice tip to win the first play of the set, followed by a nice solo block from Kayla Motheral, giving the Rams the start of a good lead. Allen added a tricky roll shot, and Katie Beecher contributed a kill with a well-timed slide hit. Rams were playing well, turning opportunities into offense and using control and placement (rather than power) to their advantage. With Shepherd up 20-17, UVa-Wise took a time out and came back with new energy. After several long volleys and some hitting errors on our side, Shepherd was down 24-23 and took a time out. Coach Guerci told the team to control the ball on our side and capitalize on offensive opportunities. "We love serve receive... when we have a chance to run our offense we're always confident." Kayleigh Helgesen tallied another kill for the Rams right out of the time out, and an error by the opponent put the Rams up 25-24. After another time out and a couple long volleys, Helgesen killed it again to secure the win at 27-25. Rams up 2-0. Patience, placement, and fundamentals were key players in the win. Shepherd looked for holes in the defense and waited for opportunities to terminate.

From the start of the third set, Shepherd dug themselves a hole, starting as just 4-0, and finally 20-6. Shepherd called a time out, and the coaching staff told the girls they could decide to score 8 points, 15 points, or decide the set is not over yet. With a new mindset, the Rams took the court again. Motheral and Helgesen scored the first point out of the time out with a nice double block. Sam Scroggins took the Rams from 9 points to 12 on a serving streak, ending in UVa-Wise calling a time out. Motheral and Bour added another nice double block. The set ended with an error on Shepherd's side, 25-14. Score SU 2, UVa-Wise 1.

The ladies let this loss roll off their backs and took the first five points of the fourth set, with Scroggins serving again. Bour was strong on the front row, contributing multiple kills and blocks. Shepherd stayed several points ahead for the entire set. An ace from Kelsey Anderson put the Rams up 11-5. Rams continued to hold the lead. Allen contributed another kill from a well-placed roll shot, making the score 24-18. UVa-Wise made a service error to give the Rams match point, 25-19. The final score was 3-1.

Shepherd is putting a strong foot forward in the Mountain East Conference this season, winning a conference match right away. We will face Concord tomorrow at 1 PM, also at home in the Butcher Center.

Go Rams!
#RamBition

Rams Cross Paths with Undefeated Seton Hill

On Tuesday, September 16th, Shepherd Rams faced off the with Seton Hill University, 7-0 so far this season. SU gave Seton a tough match and pushed them harder than they have been pushed yet, taking one set. The final score was SU 1, SHU 3. "We gave them too many opportunities to capitalize on," commented Coach Guerci. The tough competition was a good sign of progression against a top regional team.


Last weekend, September 12th and 13th, Shepherd traveled to Wheeling for a tournament--nearly the repeat of the weekend before. Shepherd came home with a record of 1-2 for the weekend. Errors on our part gave opponents too much opportunity to stay alive.

In the first match, Shepherd struggled to establish the middles and gave away too many unforced errors. In match two, Ram's unforced errors allowed LIU Post to catch up, finding Shepherd playing in their comfort zone rather than being aggressive and taking risks. On Saturday, our Rams were looking much better. Rather than playing safe and bending our style to our opponent, we played tough and capitalized on our skill and opportunity. We won due to our aggression combined with skill and consistency.

Shepherd took their losses and turned them into lessons. A good night's sleep and change of pace allowed the Rams to take control and come home Saturday with a win. Consistency was key. Friday, we had good looks, but also had ruts of unforced errors. Shepherd is steadily putting more and more together.

The Rams now have a season record of 4-4. Shepherd has a weekend of home games coming up, Friday September 19th against UVa-Wise and Saturday September 20th against Concord. Go Rams!

Rams Top IUP at First Home Game

Wednesday, September 10th at 5:30 PM, Shepherd University hosted Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the first home game for the Rams at the Butcher Center. Shepherd won the match 3-1, continuing on a bit of a winning streak from the previous weekend.

In the first set against IUP, Shepherd struggled a bit with first team contact--serve and serve recieve. IUP stayed a constant three to four points ahead of SU for most of the set, and won 25-17. However, Kayla Motheral and Kayleigh Helgesen showed impressive performance at the net.

In the next set, Shepherd was the more aggressive team. They came out hot, turning passes into plays into points right away. A serving streak from Val Bour put the Rams up 9-6. After an ace by Taylor Allen, IUP called a time out with the Rams leading 23-17. Shepherd did not lose any momentum, but scored the next two points to win 25-17, ending on a beautiful solo block by Bour.

Coach Guerci says they did not change their strategy or line-up between the first and second sets. The difference was cutting out small ball handling errors and taking care of our side of the court. "All we have to do is keep the ball in play," he says. Clearly, it was the difference between a loss and a win. This speaks to the Rams' ability to adjust under pressure.

Set three was similar to set two in that Shepherd controled the game from the beginning. Both teams were aggressive and scrappy, and no point was given that was not earned. Set three was filled with long volleys and exceptional blocking by Shepherd. Once again, Rams won the final point on a block. A double block from Motheral and Helgesen secured the win at 25-22, much closer than the two previous sets.

With a bit of a lead and high morale, Shepherd took control of the fourth set early on. Both teams played with intensity and faught through fatigue. Blocking was again key for the Rams. Sam Scroggins and Taylor Allen played great defense on the back row, allowing the offense to be most effective. Shepherd won the fourth set 25-22 and the match 3-1. Taylor Belella set all four sets and tallied an impressive 44 assists total for the match.

This brings the Rams overall season record to 3-1 and begins a bit of a winning streak for Shepherd. Shepherd Volleyball will be on the road this weekend to face Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty, both Mountain East Conference games.

Go Rams!

Rams Return from Pfieffer Victorious

This weekend, September 4-6, Shepherd University traveled to Misenheimer, NC to compete against Georgia College, Slippery Rock, and Pfieffer University. The Rams returned with two regional wins and were named champions of the tournament.

Friday afternoon at 3 PM, Shepherd and Georgia College took the court. (Senior middle hitter Katie Beecher was unable to play due to an ankle injury. Christine Jackson played in her place.) SU set the pace, staying several points ahead well into the set. Georgia caught up with the Rams at 20-20, and Shepherd fell just a little short in the end, losing 27-25.
Shepherd won the first point of the second set, but struggled to find a rhythm and take the lead. With Georgia leading 11-6, SU took a time out to gather themselves. With renewed focus, the Rams got themselves back in the game, only trailing GA by one point (15-14). However, they struggled to maintain rhythm and get the ball to the middle attackers, which cost them the second set (25-19).
The Rams began set three slow, having to come back from behind. However, reenergized, the ladies pulled ahead to eventually lead 18-11, and put away a win at 25-20, keeping them in the game.
With the score back at 0-0, Shepherd and Georgia faced off one more time. The Rams faced difficult serving and struggled with receive, allowing GA the opportunity to run a strong offense. Shepherd could not hold off the attack, and Georgia topped Shep 25-19 in the end.
The final score was Shepherd 1, Georgia 3.

Valerie Bour had 19 kills and Kayleigh Helgesen added 11 and a hit on a rough day for the Rams. Although Samantha Scroggins, Bour, and Kelsey Anderson each had 10 digs, defense was weak and contributed to the loss.

However, one loss did not keep the Rams from coming out strong Saturday. New head coach Camilo Guerci marked down his first win with Shepherd Volleyball against host team Pfieffer University. The Rams topped Pfieffer 25-15, 21-25 (Pfieffer), 25-15, and 25-19.
Shepherd also took Slippery Rock 3-0 later in the day.

"The next day we had a HUGE bounce back," says Coach,"Defensive production doubled and was the difference. It allowed us to turn that defense into a much more balanced offense."

In the match against Pfieffer, the Rams overcame a small hiccup in set two and took the other three sets with a strong lead and point differential. Four players had eight or more kills, led by Taylor Allen with 11 kills and 8 digs, and Valerie Bour with 9 kills and 9 digs. Sam Scroggins totaled 16 digs, and Taylor Belella tallied 37 assists and 6 kills.

Shepherd took their rhythm into the second match, vs. Slippery Rock University. Defensive intensity again set the tone for the win. All five hitters finished with 7 or more kills. Kayleigh Helgesen led with 9 kills and a hitting percentage of over .500. Belella, having finished with 24 assists on Friday, averaged 36 assists per game on Saturday. Allen and Bour had 8 kills and 13 digs apiece. Both middles (Jackson and Motheral) totaled 7 kills and at least 3 blocks each. Motheral led with 5 blocks, and the team finished with 8 in 3 sets.
Defensively, Allen, Bour, and Scroggins each tallied 10 digs. Christine Jackson was huge for the Ram's success, coming up with NO errors on 12 attempts. Jackson stepped in for Katie Beecher and really performed for Shepherd while Beecher suffered an ankle injury.

The Rams were named champions of the tournament, and three players placed on the all tournament team: Kayleigh Helgesen with 28 kills and 9 blocks for the weekend, Sam Scroggins--voted best defensive player--with 38 digs and 7 aces, and Val Bour--named tournament MVP--finished with 36 kills, 32 digs, and 5 aces.

Spirits are high after Saturday's high performance. Team and coaching staff consider the tournament a great success, taking home two key regional wins. The Rams have put a strong foot forward this season, showing potential for great success in the Mountain East Conference, and have shown the great depth of the team in their ability to adjust under pressure--or, in this weekend's case, injury.

Rams will play again on Wednesday at 5:30 in the Butcher Center, their home court.

For more information, visit the Rams website: http://www.shepherdrams.com/index.aspx?path=wvball


**Thanks to assistant Faisal Hallaj for updating me, as I was unable to travel with the team. Also, thanks to Pfieffer for hosting and streaming the tournament live online.