Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – They've shown they can make adjustments on the fly.
The MacEwan women's volleyball team that took the court on Saturday night vs. Winnipeg was markedly improved over the one present for Friday's home opener in the David Atkinson Gym.
It led to them winning their first set of the season – a positive development, even if it led to a 3-1 loss.
Now, their next test is improving further as the Griffins (0-2) head out on the road at the Saskatchewan Huskies (0-2) on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., Canada West TV).
"We talk about moving forward and what does moving forward look like? It's in results, it's in the technical part of the game, it's in the mental side of the game, it's in the emotional side of the game," said Griffins' interim head coach Dusty Freimark.
"I think we learned a lot from that past weekend and the girls really responded well on Saturday. We still didn't get the result that we want in our strive for competitiveness greatness, but we are looking forward to moving forward."
Whether or not that will result in them picking up their first win of the season remains to be seen, but the Griffins will push forward by cleaning up their side of the court – a part of the process that will eventually lead to results.
"Honestly, we really need to make sure we're taking care of our side," said Freimark. "Saskatchewan is big, they're athletic, they're strong, but we just need to make sure we're handling first contact. We talk about first contact in our practices a lot and making sure our focus is narrow within that.
"We're game planning against them for sure, but we're also taking care of what we need to on our side of the net."
The series will be the Griffins' first road trip of the regular season, which will allow for some team bonding, but also isn't without its challenges.
"I think as a student-athlete, leaving early and missing classes always adds a bit of extra stress," said Freimark. "Because these girls are really motivated academically, I think that is something that people don't understand how hard it is for student-athletes.
"At the same time, of course it's fun to be on the bus together and get some time away from the gym as a team," she added. "Regardless of if it's just a bus trip, it's still nice to have that time to visit and talk about things other than volleyball. And then the opportunity to play another team and compete, it's always something the athletes look forward to."
