By Ed Morrone
Even though the Pride volleyball team failed to get home court advantage in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship Tournament, head coach Fran Kalafer is not worried. As far as she is concerned, the season has just begun.
The Pride lost both of its matches this past weekend on the road against George Mason University (GMU) and Towson University, who will host the tournament. Towson gained the right to host the CAA championship when it defeated both Delaware and the Pride in consecutive nights. The four-team postseason tournament will begin on Saturday evening as the second seed Pride will take on third seeded Delaware, and Towson will host GMU afterwards. The winners of the two matches will meet Sunday at 5 p.m. to compete for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament.
"Well, we're seeded second in the tournament, and that's not too bad," Kalafer said. "After we lost on Friday, we already knew we weren't hosting, so our match on Saturday against Towson served as a great practice for us. We got to experience the gym and the crowd, and I thought we played really well even though the scores (26-30, 27-30, 28-30) do not really reflect it. We got to see a few new wrinkles that Towson came up with and all in all after a few days of practice we're going to be able to go back there and do a better job."
Despite being swept by the Tigers, the Pride have a lot to be happy about. Junior outside hitter Tessa Sphar played all three games against Towson after being limited in matches over the past two weeks due to an ankle injury and should be ready to go again on Saturday. Also, the Pride was still able to finish second in the CAA after the two losses, finishing with an overall record of 19-7 and 10-4 in the conference.
The matchup with the Blue Hens is intriguing. The teams met twice during the regular season and the home team swept both matches (Delaware on Sept. 29, the Pride on Oct. 20). Delaware finished 22-8 overall and 9-5 in the CAA and are led by the talented trio of senior middle hitter Valerie Murphy (415 kills, .322 hitting percentage), sophomore outside hitter Claire McCormack (268 kills, 299 digs), and freshman setter Allison Lutz (1296 assists, 234 digs), among others. It will be a great challenge, but one Kalafer feels her team is ready for.
"I expect a heck of a match from Delaware," she said. "They are a very good, athletic team and they're having a great season. The fact that we're 1-1 [against them] is a good thing in some ways because in this sport it's really tough to beat a team three straight times. I think it's going to be a great championship and I'm happy with the matchup."
The Pride feels as if it has unfinished business to accomplish in the CAA championship. Last season, the Pride overcame a 13-17 overall campaign by going 8-6 in the conference and earning the fourth seed. The team shocked many people by upsetting top seeded Towson in five games before eventually falling to second seed GMU in the final, three games to one.
Even though the Pride are brushing off the importance of the home court advantage, statistics from this season indicate that it could be crucial. Top seed Towson was 12-0 at home during the season, as opposed to 7-4 on the road. The Pride, meanwhile, were also 12-0 on their home court, but they stumbled to a 5-6 record away from the Physical Fitness Center. Delaware and GMU are 12-1 and 6-5 and 8-2 and 3-6 at home and on the road, respectively. Every team clearly plays better volleyball on its home court, so it is going to take a great effort to knock off Towson.
Despite playing away and the pressure of bringing a championship home lingering closely on the horizon, Kalafer insists her team is just enjoying the experience.
"This is the most exciting time of the season," said Kalafer, in her 24th season at Hofstra. "I love it and I know the players do too. I like to try to remind the players not to take it for granted. Not every team has this opportunity so, for us this is an exciting time. It took us a long time to get here and we're going to make the most of it, but above all we are just really excited about it."