Volleball Falls to Gallaudet in Heartbreaker

In their first Capital Athletic Conference match of the season, the Catholic University volleyball team lost to Gallaudet in a five-game battle on Wednesday. Playing without team leader Liz Carden and starter Kelly Kings, CUA lost its first match of the season.

“Having to reorganize the lineup the night before a game is tough, especially when you have to try to replace two of your best players. We did not play our best game tonight, but it’s difficult to do that without Kelly and Liz,” said head coach Nagy Abdelrazek, whose team is now 9-1 on the year.

The Cardinals had very little coordination on offense and seemed to be playing just to survive in the first two games of this match, which were won by Gallaudet.

Catholic squeaked by in the third game, winning 30-28, and demolished Gallaudet in the next game, 30-17. CUA ran out of gas in the fifth and deciding game, losing 16-14.

“We have to hustle for every ball, and we can’t give teams free points like we did tonight if we want to make the NCAA tournament,” said Abdelrazek, who had coached Catholic to a ranking of 20th in the Division III volleyball poll this season before the loss.

Without Carden, the team was lead by Mary Ryan who had 15 kills. Defensively, Kathleen McGlynn continued her season-long domination over opponents, producing ten blocks.

With emotions strained by the recent tragedies, Catholic was not performing to its usual standards. Rusty from a week layoff, the team was shocked by the athletic Gallaudet team.

“Volleyball is a mental challenge, and we were not focused enough to win this game,” explained Abdelrazek, showing his displeasure with his teams first loss of the season.

“We should have beaten this team,” said Elizabeth Schreiner who had a more involved role in the game with the two injured starters on the bench.

Schreiner attributed CUA’s confusion on offense to playing with two starters out of the lineup. “Our coach prepares us well, but losing two starters will confuse any line up,” said Schreiner.

Carden, who did not play because of tendonitis, will be back for the weekend tournament. Kings suffered a sprained ankle on Tuesday and will not be back for at least a week.

The Cardinals have to quickly shake off this first loss, as they are playing in the Salisbury Tournament this weekend. Salisbury is CUA’s archrival. With any luck, Catholic could face them in the tournament. Starting this Saturday, Catholic will play all matches on the road during the next three weeks, before coming home to host the CUA Invitational Tournament on Oct. 13.