Haiden Widener, Campus Carrier Asst. Sports Editor
After defeating Thomas More College, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA Regional tournament on Thursday, Berry volleyball fell short to Hendrix, 3-2, in the semifinals on Friday night.
Hendrix went on to win the tournament after beating the number one seed Emory University on Saturday night, and they will advance in the NCAA tournament.
Berry had already faced Hendrix twice this season, with one loss and one win. So the team knew they were up for a good fight on Friday and were not disappointed with the loss.
Head Coach Mika Robinson said, “There were moments when we played some of the best volleyball that we’ve played all year. We played together and they just battled against a really good Hendrix team.”
Berry went to the NCAA Regional Championship and cheered Hendrix on during their game against Emory on Saturday night. Showing their sportsmanship, and love for the SAA conference.
Even though the Vikings season is finished the team had a winning season with an overall record of 25-8.
The team won the American Volleyball Coaches Association Academic Award, they had six players win all-conference awards, had four players win the SAA weekly honor throughout the season, had three players win the AVCA all-region award, and got to host the NCAA Regional Tournament.
A great season for the Vikings, but they will also be losing three seniors after this season, including Katie O’Rourke, Lauren Schmitz, and Emily Stromberg.
Robinson said, “These three have done a tremendous job leading the team this year, [their leadership] is the reason why this team was able to come together and have such a great run.”
These players have clearly made a positive impact on the team this year. O’Rourke won the SAA Player of the Year, Schmitz had 121 kills, 1100 assists, and 90 blocks this season. Stromberg was out the majority of the season due to injury, but was able to come back for the last few games and was still able to get 118 kills and 139 digs.
O’Rourke gave much credit to Coach Robinson saying, “she really never gave up on us, she truly knew how good we could be, and I think we owe a lot of our success to her, thank you for everything [Coach Robinson].”
Robinson brought in eight new players this season and the team has high hopes for their future success with freshman, Christina Goforth, already earning an SAA All-Conference Honorable Mention.
“The girls that coach brings into is program are amazing girls,” Schmitz said, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
The three seniors all said that they are so grateful to have been able to play with this team, and are proud of the success they were able to achieve over the last four years.
Stromberg said, “Playing for this team has truly been the best experience of my life and I would never ever give that up.”