Doused by the Eagles

Huddled around their coach, the Liberty University Lady Flames were staying cool in the deciding set of a back-and-forth battle with a quality opponent.

Junior right-side hitter Casey Goodwin, who finished with a team-high 19 kills, had just slammed a volleyball off blockers’ hands for what was initially ruled Liberty’s first point
of set five. 

But the call of the ball landing out-of-bounds was being challenged. After a few minutes, it was overturned, putting the Flames in a 3-0 deficit.

Liberty would not recover, allowing the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (FGCU), the first women’s volleyball team from the state of Florida to visit the Vines Center, to clinch a narrow road victory Oct. 12, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 17-25, 15-5).

“How we started so bad, it just put ourselves in a hole,” Flames Head Coach Trevor Johnson said of the final set. “We’ve got to start off a little better than that.”

The match began well for Liberty, with Goodwin scoring the last three points for the Flames in the first set with smashing kills to stave off a late Eagles rally. 

After Liberty had an 11-3 run to take a 23-17 advantage in set one, FGCU closed in to force Goodwin’s clutch offense. FGCU then rode the momentum they gained to a dominating 9-1 lead to start the second set.

The Eagles cruised to wins in sets two and three before Liberty came back for a convincing 25-17 victory in set four.

But FGCU would take control again and improve to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Liberty fell to 7-13 and 4-3 against teams in the ASUN.

“We’ve shown that we can compete with these teams,” Johnson said. “I think one or two plays, we could beat them. It’s just a mindset for us that needs to change. We need to believe that we’re the better team.”

About halfway through conference play, even as frustrating results like the loss to the Eagles continue to occur, signs of progress have been evident.

“Regardless of the record, I think we’ve been better,” Johnson said. “That’s just a credit to our girls. They show up every day and just work hard. For us, we’re just trying to surrender the outcome and just trust the process.”

The tough loss was disappointing, but it did not keep the Lady Flames from staying positive about the close contest. 

“As a team, we had fun,” sophomore middle blocker Kainah Williams said. “It was a hard game, but it was fun as well.”

Williams especially had some fun moments, with 14 kills on an impressive .619 hitting percentage. It was the highest hitting percentage for a Lady Flame in a home game this year, and second-best overall behind only Goodwin’s .684 line at
Jacksonville Sept. 22.

“When there’s good passing and good setting, there’s good hitting that goes along with it,” Williams said. “It’s a team effort, so a lot of help from my setters definitely.”

The unity, energy and focus on team Williams emanates when talking about her individual effort points to the emphasis on team chemistry Johnson really pushed heading into Liberty’s match against FGCU.

“They love each other, and they’re willing to do everything it takes for the team,” Johnson said. “The results will take care of themselves. They keep getting better and they want to serve each other and love each other. That, to me, is a testament to the culture that we’re trying to change.”

The Flames will host Jacksonville Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.