Lady Flames Volleyball goes 2-1 in the Kirsten Dickmann Invitantional
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After going 1-1 in the Puerto Rico Invitational Aug. 30 and 31, the Liberty University Women’s Volleyball team went 2-1 in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland. The Lady Flames geared up for a two-day, three-match tournament against Navy, Cornell and UC San Diego.
The Lady Flames started the tournament strong with a 3-0 sweep against the Navy Midshipmen, going 25-17 in the first set, 25-16 in the second set and 25-19 in the third. Freshman outside hitter Carly O’Brien, freshman defensive specialist Amelia Tomlinson and senior middle blocker Madison Blane led all players in aces. O’Brien notched five while Tomlinson and Blane each scored three. Freshman outside hitter Paige Overcash and senior outside hitter Kate Gammer had an impressive nine kills apiece in the game, and sophomore setter Charli Morris had a match-high of 16 assists.
“We have a parameter,” Head Coach Nolan Albrecht said. “We want to get three runs of three points in every set. If we can score three in a row, three times, then we will probably win that set. When you start doing that, then a lot of things go your way.”
The Flames faced off against the Big Red later that same day. Liberty fought hard, but Cornell barely edged the Flames out in the first two sets (25-23 and 25-22) and took the third set (25-18), completing the sweep in the second set.
“We pulled back from what we were trying to do from the serving line,” Albrecht said. “Another mantra is selfish serving. Serving is the only skill you do where no one touches the ball before you. We kind of pulled away from that, and we got small and we lost a little bit of courage.”
Despite the loss, a few Liberty players were able to walk away from the game with new achievements. Senior defensive specialist Erica Lowery collected a match-high of 16 digs, and freshman setter Charli Crowson had a team-high of 13 assists. A huge career moment came for Blane when she scored her 311th career block, leaving her just eight blocks away from breaching the top 10 in blocks in program history. Blane was also named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week.
“I never even thought that I would play D1 volleyball,” Blane said when asked about her total career blocks. “Getting an accolade like that is so rewarding. It goes to show all the hard work me and my teammates have really poured into all our seasons. I thank God for it every day.”
The Lady Flames rallied back the following day against the undefeated UC San Diego Tritons. San Diego commanded the first set, but Liberty responded by winning the second set with a 3-0 scoring run. Following the quick set, Liberty took the win in the third. Although it seemed like the Lady Flames were going to win easily, San Diego turned the heat up toward the end of the fourth set, forcing a fifth set to break the tie. Liberty did not crumble under pressure and won the fifth set 10-15.
“I felt that we had a sense of conviction of winning,” Albrecht said. “We talked about not having confidence as much as having conviction, and I think one of our other mantras is that we win fifth sets. That is one of our goals. Kudos to UCSD. They were serving really tough, and they were blocking really well.”
Blane was one of many players who were glad to see their team take victory in the last set after a difficult match.
“We were just hungry,” Albrecht said. “After the Cornell game, it was definitely a tough loss for all of us, but I think we were just hungry for a win. Our thought process was ‘big dogs have got to eat.’ Going into the fifth set, we don’t have as much time to dig ourselves out of a hole. Our thought process was we have to start with an urgency, and getting it done.”
The Lady Flames remain on the road for one more match as they travel to take on the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh Sept. 11.
Warden is a sports reporter at the Champion.