Listen Here
By Erin Moran
The University of Findlay volleyball team is in the Midwest Regional Semifinal game Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. taking on Indianapolis Greyhounds. This comes after a fierce battle with No. 4 seed Wayne State Thursday, Dec. 4 in the quarter-final.
The team entered the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the second consecutive year and ninth time in program history as the fifth-seed in the Midwest Region bracket. Their regional match against Wayne State went all the way to five sets.
- Set 1: 23 – 25 Loss
- Set 2: 25 – 23 Win
- Set 3: 22 – 25 Loss
- Set 4: 25 – 23 Win
- Set 5: 15 – 13 Win
The Oilers traveled to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tuesday, Dec. 2 for the first round of the NCAA tournament. The team’s entered the postseason match with a regular season record of 25-5 and a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) record of 13-2.
Before the match, head coach Wick Colchagoff emphasized the importance of the game and the refocusing of the team’s mindset.
“I think we have a real positive mindset. We were obviously disappointed with our performance in the G-MAC tournament with our loss in the semis to Ohio Dominican University (ODU). However, the team understands that the NCAA tournament is a new ball game” said Colchagoff. “It’s a new chance for them to go out and make a great postseason run”.
The Oilers, in preparation for this game, stayed focused on their strengths and looked into what could use improvements, as well as Wayne State strategies.
“We have certain things that we do that make us successful, and so we don’t really change too much in terms of its regular season to postseason,” said Colchagoff. “We have really focused on improving in a couple areas that we thought hurt us in our lost ODU. And then we also work really hard on the things that we do that make us very successful like our serving.”
“This week we’ve practiced, knowing what Wayne State does really well and what they don’t do well and trying to exploit those weaknesses,” senior setter and G-MAC Player of the Year, Emma White said. “In season, we’re still working on improving our game and now it’s more focused on the other teams strategies.”
Seniors Makenna Belcher, White, and Alana Pohlman shared how meaningful making the NCAA tournament was as it is their last season as Oilers.
“From the outside, I think people expected us to get here. But I think this year our mindsets kind of changed because we kind of felt like the underdogs last year. So it feels like it’s more of a pressure role this year” said Belcher. “But I think it’s really bittersweet that we’re getting to finish out our career like this.”
“Being able to accomplish those things really is just bittersweet and it has been a big goal of mine to leave the program better than I found it,” said Pohlman. “Our goal is to make it farther than last year.”
“It’s definitely very special that we’ve made it, the NCAA tournament. Not many teams can say they’ve done that and we’ve done it two years in a row, which is super exciting” said White.
The team emphasized the community of the team and the bond they share that is not determined by the scores of their matches.
“It’s so much bigger than volleyball, it roots from being with such a good program but you don’t see the whole team’s work in practice and just how fun it is” said Pohlman. “Everyday we’re just trying to get better, but it’s a fun atmosphere, and we win as a team, we lose, we lose as a team.”
“The memories that we’ve made are really cool and not a lot of people are going to have those memories of playing in big games with a team, which is such a cool thing about volleyball,” said Belcher.
“Individual awards are great, but in the big picture no one’s really looking for those. We’re just trying to come out with a win at the end of the season” said Pohlman.
Coach Colchagoff spoke on the seniors’ impact on the program and the team itself. The team has also experienced more success in the last few years. A large part of that goes to their playing ability, as well as their ability to lead, according to Colchagoff.
“They’re the leaders of the team in terms of how the other players follow what they do and say and how they act,” Cochagoff said.
Belcher and White were named All Region First Team by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, while Pohlman was named Second Team All Region.
This will be the second match up between the Oilers and the Greyhounds after the Oilers walked away with a 3-2 win in the Midwest Region Crossover in October. The Oiler athletics department says since 2005, the Oilers and Greyhounds have faced each other nine times, with Findlay holding the historical edge at 6-3.
