The Sacred Heart women’s club volleyball team returned to play after not competing since the 2019 season. The Pioneers competed in both the University of Connecticut(UConn) Invitational on Oct. 23 where they picked up a set win over Northeastern and a tournament hosted here at Sacred Heart on Nov. 7 where they finished third overall.
For first year head coach Elizabeth McGreevy, her priorities have been centered around helping her team perform at their best ability, while still enjoying the game of volleyball.
“I am very excited to be coaching,” said McGreevy. “The girls love being back after missing a season due to Covid.”
Senior outside hitter Samantha Spalding has been anticipating a return back to Sacred Heart volleyball ever since the team’s season was cancelled nearly two years ago.
“It was an adjustment to not having a season because we would just scrimmage against each other, and that would be frustrating because we were getting used to one another,” said Spalding. “But since we have started a season and get to face new teams, and new competition it has helped a lot.”
The team also has some new faces, including freshmen Gianna Mirasola, an outside hitter for the team who is not new to the sport. Mirasola has experience on the high school level and competed on travel teams as well.
“I played travel volleyball right up until I came to Sacred Heart,” said Mirasola. “So I was well prepared to play for the team and the girls who were on the team already were super nice so that made my transition easy.”
After their third place finish at the Nov. 7 tournament, the Pioneers qualified for the playoffs and matched up against the University of Massachusetts(UMass) in the semifinals in a one set match.
Although Spalding put together a double-double with 14 digs and 25 assists, Sacred Heart was taken down and UConn would go on to take first place overall.
Sacred Heart Club Sports contributed to this article.
