By Douglas Kidd
The William Peace University volleyball team did not have the season they wanted after making the USA South championship match in 2022. However, even with a challenging year the Pacers still had plenty of successes to celebrate from this past season.
The Pacers posted an overall record of 14 wins and 16 losses in the season. In the USA South conference, the Pacers posted a record of 11 wins and only seven losses giving them a fourth-place finish in conference play. The Pacers ended up falling short in the first round, losing to Salem in five sets.
Outside of conference play, the Pacers made sure that they prepared themselves by playing tough opponents such as nationally ranked Mary Washington, Bridgewater, Virginia Wesleyan, and nationally ranked Christopher Newport.
Many of their non-conference opponents were higher ranked than most conference opponents and the team used these games to get better for conference play.
The tough schedule helped the Pacers as they were able to beat eventual conference champions Meredith in three sets.
Landis Limon, a senior middle hitter said, “This past season was challenging, both as a whole and personally. We began our season with tough opponents, and we went through many changes, in terms of lineup and physical capabilities.”
When it comes to individual honors the Pacers had three all-conference selections this past season with Hannah Collier earning first team all-conference honors, Georgia Grace Anderson earning second team all-conference honors, and Tameka Adams earning all-sportsmanship honors.
With the changes made around the team the messages from the coaches also shifted.
Limon said, “I think one strength of this program is the hunger to win. It’s a talented and determined program. However, I think this was the main message: to sacrifice, to pursue, to do anything to increase our capabilities to achieve these wins.”
Collier also led the team in kills with 269, while Maegan Brylski leads the team with 545 assists and 59 aces. Anderson was also a team leader in blocks with 80 and Logan Moore led the team in digs with 512.
The Pacers have been able to be successful for so long due to the “intense” culture their coaching staff puts on the team and what they as teammates expect from each other.
Limon said, “The culture is definitely intense. You see this in the program through academics, through practice and even “strongly enforced” extra practice, through weight training, through dealing with conflicts, etc.”
The Pacers were also given more recognition with three Collier, Moore, and Anderson all being recognized with academic all-district honors. Hannah Ward was also awarded the NSCA All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Award. Ward was nominated by William Peace strength and conditioning coach Rebecca Fraser.
The team is looking to graduate seven seniors this season out of their 23-woman squad.
When talking about her favorite memory from the season, Limon said, “Oddly enough, it was the goodbye. Being in the locker room with my team and seeing the emotions that us as seniors felt as well as what my underclassmen teammates felt reminded me of the purpose of playing at this university, in this division, in this sport.”
All information from WPU Athletics and USASouth.net