The Principia beach volleyball team competed against Webber University (NAIA) and Huntingdon College (NCAA D3) today in Montgomery, Alabama. In the first match against Webber, many Panther teams looked a little ragged, committing too many unforced errors to stay in the match. The exception was
Sarah Ungerleider and
Mesa Goebel in the #4 spot – they played successfully bold, and their execution earned them the "w". Their teamwork, communication, and overall vibe was just what was needed to get the momentum going their way.
Nikki Matters and
Makena Patterson took their match to a 3
rd game, but couldn't grab the win. The big deal about this match was that they hit some snags and it felt like there was no way back to being competitive, but they just kept coming back. Their relentless pursuit of playing the game boldly and until the bitter end really showed their grit! They lost in a heart wrenching 14-16 deciding game, but after coming back to life three different times.
In the second match against Huntingdon, Principia had much better play. Even though
Hayden Warner and
Devon Marunde earned the only win, each partnership showed some real competitive maturity in righting their partner play. Coach Sprague exclaimed, "I am so proud of the progress they have made with their defense movement and their ability to score off of defensive transition."
The Panthers have one more day in tourney play, and then play in St. Louis on Tuesday against Missouri Baptist.
