Ward Sutlive, sports editor

It is said that good things come in threes. This is certainly true in the case of the Berry College volleyball team, who won three consecutive games last weekend. Two of the games took place on Sept. 18th, with the third occurring on sept. 19th. The opponents that the team faced off against were Oglethorpe University,  Emory University and Randolph-Macon College.

By the end of the weekend, senior right-side hitter Madie Whitehead stated that she felt good about how everything ended up working out. Whitehead also played in the games against Emory and Randolph-Macon.

“It was a great weekend,” Whitehead said. “We really keyed in this week on preparation and respecting all of our opponents equally.”

The team’s first game against Oglethorpe occurred on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and resulted in the team winning with a final score of 3-0. It was a significant game for the team, as it officially started the team’s time in the Southern Athletic Association for the season.

Many were proud but not surprised with the results of the game and believed that there were multiple specific players that were instrumental in the victory. Whitehead in particular spotlighted outside hitter Shelby Harris as being at the center of several memorable moments during that particular game.

“[Harris] had a phenomenal game with a really high hit percentage,” Whitehead said. “She was very effective offensively and definitely contributed greatly to that win on Friday against Oglethorpe.”

Berry’s second game on Sept. 18th against Emory began at 7:00 p.m. with a winning score of 3-1. Assistant Indoor Volleyball Coach Molly Bergin felt that this was a hard-earned win for the team, mainly because of how formidable the Emory team was. Bergin believed that Emory’s defensive playing style was a challenging hurdle to overcome. It took all 19 members of the team to secure their victory resulting in what Bergin called a united win.

“I really appreciated how our team came together last Friday and fought against Emory,” Bergin said. “I think it was a great united win and we had a lot of fun.”

The final game of the invitational was against Randolph-Macon with a 3-0 win. Whitehead was proud of her teammates and believed that they demonstrated several important strengths on the battlefield. Key among those was their offensive playing, which she saw as being very well spread out on the field.

“I think we were firing on all fronts,” Whitehead said. “I think everybody just performed really well and showed the preparation that we put into the games from practice this week.”

According to Bergin there were several highpoints and low points throughout the three games. One example of a low point occurred during the Emory game, when the team began to lose some of their focus as the match went on. While Bergin and her fellow coaches were able to redirect the players, she felt that things were very up in air during the third set. However, she was happy when the team managed to turn things around in the fourth set.

“The message that we were giving our team was that every point matters with a team like Emory,” Bergin said. “But I think that they were able to see that and turn it around in the fourth set, which I appreciated.”

Caitlyn Moriarty, head coach of the volleyball team attributes some of her team’s success to the high standards that she and her assistant coaches hold the team to. Self-improvement is a major goal that is ever present within the team’s dynamics, and players are often encouraged to adopt a growth mindset. Moriarty especially works to instill that mentality in the freshmen players, as this new environment can be particularly strenuous for them.

In order to alleviate that stress and strengthen her players, Moriarty will work with them on analyzing their strengths and figuring out the best ways to implement those during games.

“We operate under really high team standards and expectations in all areas, not just volleyball but in the classroom and in their personal growth,” Moriarty said. “What they’re committing to and willing to do is just try to get one percent better each day.”

The remainder of the season will be slightly different for the team, as Moriarty is on maternity leave. Nevertheless, she feels comfortable about the current of the team. She has managed to delegate work among her assistant coaches and knows how adaptable her players are.

This weekend the team will face their first big game without Moriarty. It will take place in Texas on Friday and will be against Trinity University. Moriarty has a good feeling about her team’s chances, and knows that everyone will continue to utilize the growth mindset that everyone has worked so hard for.

“I think that we will continue to evaluate our progress and have small little goals that we’re working towards,” Moriarty said. “We’ll continue to look inward and figure out areas that we can add value in and I can make sure that I’m adding value in those ways.”