The Dixie State College women’s volleyball team pulled off a win against Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday.
Winning the match against PLNU, after the upsetting loss against California Baptist University on Friday, made the team confidence rise.
“We’re the type of team that has a lot of potential,” said freshman right side Mercedes O’Neal, a general education major from West Jordan. “But coming into games we can’t really get together. So far I don’t feel like we have been doing as good as we can be doing, but we’re getting better and working as a team.”
Overall this team has a record of 4-7 and 2-5 in the Pacific West Conference.
“We have had our ups and downs for sure,” head coach Robyn Felder said. “We are a really young squad, lots of new faces on the team and out on the court. We are growing and we are learning every game. So overall I think we have figured a few things out, but we have a long way to go.”
O’Neal said she feels they are all best friends on and off the court, which helps strengthen their chemistry.
“As far as hard work and athleticism, the girls are right there,” Felder said. “They are doing so many good things in practice and they are getting better.”
Felder said the mental side of the game is huge. She said it is important to be able to finish and stay in the game when they are down by a couple of points.
Although they are doing many great things, there are still some aspects the team can improve.
“Just being able to execute (and) being able to finish the play and not force the error, which is what we are doing right now,” Felder said.
The team is focused on the positives. DSC is focused on not only winning, but also having fun on the field, which is what makes this team so strong-hearted.
“During the game, when you get a kill, it is the best feeling in the world,” O’Neal said. “Or getting a block. Definitely [playing] the game is the best part of playing volleyball.”
Senior outside hitter Brita Jensen, an integrated studies major from Taylorsville, said competing is what makes volleyball so fun.
“I feel like everybody as a team needs to be more aggressive and want to be on the court and fight and have the will to win,” Jensen said. “I feel like that is the way that we can get better as a team.”
Dixie goes back to California and plays Point Loma again on Friday at 8 p.m.
