As the starters took the court, it was evident how much the presence of both their parents and fellow students invigorated them. After a season of closed courts and streamed games, a boisterous student section was a welcome change from empty bleachers. This past Sunday, the Rhodes Volleyball team closed out Parents’ Weekend with a game against the school’s main rival: Sewanee. 

 In the first part of the set, both Sewanee and Rhodes gave up several points due to serving and setting errors. Starting setter Gabriele Kozik (#14) was able to ace Sewanee several times with her fantastic serve, but after a series of doubles was subbed out for #13, Brenna Wyatt, a sophomore from Clemons, North Carolina. Wyatt was able to cleanly set up her hitters, allowing them to make some incredible kills. Middle blocker Gabrielle White (#7) was vicious with tip placement, truly exploiting the holes in Sewanee’s defense and scoring Rhodes several points with her strategic placement of the ball. Sophomore, Shayla Garrison, had some strong kills as well, but the points given up earlier in the set made it an impossibly close set. The end of the set was more about which team could force the other to make a mistake first. Unfortunately, the Lynx made two too many missteps and the final score of the set was Rhodes 26-Sewanee 28.

As the teams switched sides, one Rhodes dad began leading the stands in a cheer spelling out “Lynx”, in turn hyping up the student section and the team. This energy showed in the team’s play. Again, both Gabrielle White and Shayla Garrison made strong kills and much less points were given up on serving and defensive errors. The final score of this set was 25 Rhodes – 14 Sewanee.

The third set saw the second setter substitution of the match, in which Freshman Amber Williams was subbed in for Brenna Wyatt. The team continued their streak of great swings and kills, with Freshman, Mary Oldman (#17), landing, but the real star of this set was Senior, Libero Marissa Hall (#4). Throughout the match, Hall played strong defense and had great placement when she had to set up her front hitters. She had a streak of aces that could not be iced. The final score was Rhodes 25- Sewanee 20. 

In the final set, Rhode’s defense struggled. Balls hit the ground without anyone diving for them, and Sewanee managed to ace the back row with deep serves. Despite this, Rhodes maintained a small lead through strong swings and accurate serving. The final score was Rhodes 25-Sewanee 23, which meant that Rhodes won the game by winning 3 out of four sets. 

Rhodes Women’s Volleyball’s next home game will be this Wednesday, the 22nd, at 6:30 PM. where they will be playing Hendrix College. Help give the team a home court advantage by showing up and showing out in the student section. Roll Lynx, baby.