Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – One word sums up what the MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball team needs to do to continue its four-game winning streak this weekend.
"Consistency," said head coach Chris Wandler.
The Griffins (7-3) will look to maintain their top level throughout a weekend visit to Mount Royal University (2-8) for matches on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both Canada West TV).
"We're a big believer that high-level performance is all about how consistent you can be," explained Wandler. "That's what we've been diving into our training about ever since August and September.
"It's not about perfectionism, it's about being consistent in our efforts and performance."
For the most part, minus a few dips here and there, that's exactly what's propelled them to back-to-back weekend sweeps over Brandon and Regina.
Strong serving, blocking, passing and defensive play has led to the Griffins winning 12 of the last 13 sets they've played.
They'll need to continue that this weekend against a team that beat them in preseason action back on Sept. 23.
"A good test for us," said Wandler of facing MRU, who are always a strong opponent, no matter what their record says this season. "They beat us in five sets in the preseason. They've got a couple of really good outside hitters and middle blockers. They'll be a test physically at the net for us. It's going to be a good way to end the first half of the season with a nice marker match."
Their biggest takeaway from that 3-2 preseason loss back on Sept. 23 is something they've been a lot better at recently.
"We need to serve the ball in the court," said Wandler. "That was our biggest learning moment. There was a set where we lost 25-23 and we missed nine serves in that set. We were saying, 'hey, that's not winning volleyball.'
"So, we need to be able to serve with some accuracy, with some speed on the ball, but the biggest thing is making the opposition pass the ball. We're a very good defending and blocking team, so we have to be able to use those attributes. You don't use those attributes when you're serving balls outside the court."
