The Oaks competitive coed 6v6 intramural volleyball team won against the Ericks in the season’s first playoff game on Tuesday, March 5 at the Student Recreation Center.
Despite a regular season record of 1-2, the 25-11 win means the Oaks will play March 18. The three-men and three-women team started the game five minutes late because the opposing team arrived late.
Midway through the first set, forensic and investigative science sophomore Mia Rust dove for the ball to keep it in play and maintained a steady lead. Entering the team’s first season playing together, making the playoffs was a pre-season goal.
The Ericks were short a player, giving the Oaks the upper hand in the match.
“I served at the spot where the missing player should have been,” Rust said. “This made it difficult for our opponent to receive the serve. I think this put us ahead in the match.”
After missing multiple serves at the start of the second set, the Oaks trailed the Ericks. As the set progressed, Oaks setter and electrical engineering sophomore Ali Rashid said he switched to “home base” after the serve, a strategy to make pass-set hit easier and potentially score. The strategy helped the Oaks make the score 20-15, ending the Ericks’ short-lived lead.
After 30 minutes of gameplay, animal science senior Gwen Gardner scored the game-winning point. The ace was Gardner’s first winning serve, resulting in a 25-16 final score.
“I had a lot of good serves throughout the game, and the way the team was encouraging and energetic just made it even more special to serve game point,” Gardner said.
After the game, Rust said she was excited to see how the Oaks’ teamwork and camaraderie would improve over the playoffs.
“I can tell that our teamwork is improving every game that we play together,” Rust said. “We are becoming better at understanding how each of us plays together and the best way to work with each other.”
The Oaks will play on Monday, March 18 at 6:40 p.m. at the Student Rec Center. For more information about the Oaks’ playoff season, visit imleagues.com through a TAMU email.
Hannah Murphy is a journalism sophomore and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.
