After traveling every weekend to Indiana and Michigan in the beginning portion of the season, it has been really nice to be able to relax and have all the teams come to us. We started off the week with a home game against Grace. We started off warm-ups a little shaky considering we had to change to the side court due to the torrential downpour and our leaky gym roof. Once all the commotion was over, we got down to business. We started of so well in game one. We were playing with energy and being very scrappy. It just wasn't enough, though, as Grace got a lead and then kept it. They must play well after sitting on a bus for five hours because they played a great match. We hung in there for the rest of the match, but never got a big enough run to take the lead and win a set. We did have great effort, though, and I can just accept the fact that we lost to a great team.

Our next game was against Taylor, and in case you didn't know, they are ranked No. 12 in the NAIA and No. 1 in our conference thus far. Needless to say, they are a great team. With that said, we gave them a run for their money. We had the lead several times, and we played so hard. We had many super long rallies and I really can say we gave it our best. Knowing that we played hard, the outcome does not really matter, but we did end up losing. However, in the grand scheme of things, we played well, we played together, and we played with intensity. We really believed that we could beat them and we acted like it.

The very next day we played Huntington, and it was crucial that we had that same type of play for this match because if not then we could very well lose to a team we beat in three sets the last time we met. They were a solid team, and we had some great rallies. We had two great comebacks in games two and three to take the match in three sets. We played just as well as the night before, and we carried that energy from Taylor into the next day. I am very proud of the way we have been playing, and it shows that we have really been improving and starting to get used to playing with each other and really mesh.

Now onto our latest game that just took place last night against Goshen. We traveled there and we knew that it was going to be a good match considering we beat them in four last time, but they were all very close in score. We played strong in the beginning, but just lost the first set 26-24. We came back strong in the second set, and we won 28-26. The third game we did not play as well, and we lost 25-15, which took us into the fourth game. We knew we had to win this set, and so in yet another super close set, we pulled off a win with a score of 32-30. We kept going back and fourth, and we wanted the momentum from that fourth set to carry us into the fifth set. We started off strong with the first few points right off the bat. They got a little run, and caught up to us and it was dead even the whole way to fifteen. We ended up losing 16-14, and it was very frustrating because the win was so close, and yet we had to drive the whole five hours back disappointed. The positive side of it is that we played so well the whole time, and we really never gave up no matter what the score was. We meshed very well, and we know what things we all need to work on. I was so proud of how we played, now it is a matter of learning to execute at the end of the game and learning to finish.

This week I introduce the final new member on our team, our defensive specialist from West Salem, Ohio, #5, Paige Hagans. Paige is a junior, and no she is not a transfer. I have been living with Paige for two wonderful years now, and she was just going to MVNU like every normal student here: to learn and to graduate with a degree. You would not see her playing volleyball, but instead working in the library. Paige played in high school, but never thought she would be playing in college and yet here she is. She has become a key back row member for us, and she has been doing a tremendous job. She really has shown her flexibility and athleticism by not having played volleyball competitively for two years, and then being thrown into a college practice and doing so well. I do not like to brag, but I technically was the one that recruited Paige and mentioned her name to Coach, so now I can say, "you're welcome, Coach!"

Living with Paige for two years now, I have obviously gotten to know her quite well and I wouldn't even know where to begin in describing her. I will admit that how our whole friendship started was through an old childhood computer game called "Nancy Drew." That similarity for some reason made us instantly best friends. At this moment, I would like to give a shout-out to her two little twin sisters, Courtney and Chloe who come and visit Paige and myself (cause I am their older sister now as well) often. Paige may act shy at first with her whole "I don't like to dance in front of people" phase, but once you crack her from her shell there is no going back. She is one of the most fun-loving, outgoing girls you will meet. She is always there to listen to your problems and is someone who genuinely cares about you and would do anything for you. She has become on of my best friends both on and off the team, and I am so happy that she gets to experience being on our team. She has already improved so much throughout this season, and I am really excited to see how much better she becomes by this time next year. I love you dearly, Paigens!

This weekend is a huge for us. Yes, I'll admit we have not had the best record or the best standings in our conference, but there is still one thing that can turn this season right-side up and that is to make it to the NCCAA Nationals in Florida. The winner of this weekend's NCCAA East Region Tournament gets a bid to nationals, and we want nothing more than to be able to continue our season longer and get even better. This weekend means so much to the team, the upperclassmen, and myself. We really need to come out strong and play our best because this is something that we can most definitely accomplish. I have all the faith in the world that we can pull of that first-place finish this weekend, but I can assure you it is not going to be easy. We will be playing Malone and Nyack to start the tourney off on Friday. Then we play on Saturday all the way until the championship at 2 p.m. (because we will be winning). All these games are home, so we need ALL OF YOU to come out and support us. See you all there, and stay classy MVNU!