As the regular season winds down for the Lady Bisons volleyball team, the focus now becomes the Great American Conference (GAC) tournament and reclaiming the title they had within their grasp in 2013.
The team has been on a roll lately, winning eight of their last nine games, leaving them at 19-7 with one match remaining. They have built some crucial momentum heading into the GAC tournament, but after last year, they know all too well that momentum alone can not win championships.
In 2013 the Lady Bisons entered the GAC Tournament undefeated while riding a 30-match conference winning streak. It all came to a crashing halt in the title game, however, as they fell to rival Arkansas Tech 3-0, losing out on a chance to cap off a perfect season with a tournament championship.
Head Coach Meredith Fear said that the lessons learned from last year have provided motivation for this season.
“The girls are very motivated,” Fear said. “(The loss in last year’s GAC title game) really refocused us this year. We learned the hard lesson last year about how you can be undefeated, but all that matters is that last game. The girls really have their eyes on the prize this year.”
Senior middle-blocker Liv Savage, who ranks second in the GAC in blocks per game at 1.11, backed up her coach’s words.
“Last year we cared a little too much about staying undefeated in regular season, and when it came down to the most important game, we didn’t play Harding Volleyball,” Savage said. “We’re definitely more focused this year on finishing strong and playing our best when it really counts.”
As a senior, and this being her last shot at a conference championship, Savage said that what she and the other senior leaders really want to instill in their younger teammates is self-confidence heading into the most important matches of the season.
“As seniors, we are the leaders and we have the confidence that our team will perform our best and play for each other,” Savage said. “We just want to give that confidence and leadership to not only the seniors for next year but for all of the future teams. Harding volleyball thrives on team chemistry and leadership.”
The Lady Bisons final regular season contest will be this Thursday, Nov. 6, in Arkadelphia, Ark., where they will take on Ouachita Baptist at 7 p.m. The GAC Tournament takes place Nov. 13-15 in Hot Springs, Ark.
