Alejandro Aguirre/ Contributing Writer
After getting their first win in Conference USA play this past Sunday and their first win since Sept. 6, the volleyball team is going to play two road games this weekend. Their first matchup the Charlotte 49ers on Friday, Oct. 10, and the second match against Louisiana Tech is Sunday, Oct. 12.
For the first time in a while, the Panthers will head to an opposing home floor with winning momentum. This past weekend Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett made changes to the starting lineup, which lead to a win over UAB. Expect to see the same starting lineup and rotation for this weekend’s games.
The changes seemed like an odd or gutsy move for some, as Buck-Crockett placed three freshmen in the starting lineup and made gameplay changes for one of the team captains, Lucia Castro.
Her response to this change in the rotation was, “This past week we finally found what wasn’t working and we were able to bring the new energy in a new lineup to today’s game … I’m also in a funk right now, so I am trying to not hurt the team, and if I am not hitting well, I just have to focus on other things to try to get the point.”
With this lineup move, more offense is brought to the team, something lacking in the past. Expect the same energy brought for the UAB match to transfer when playing Charlotte and Louisiana Tech.
Coming into the match, Charlotte has an overall record of 12-9 and a record of 1-3 in Conference play. Even though the 49ers have a winning record, they are coming into the Panthers match after losing their last two games, and of their last five games, they have lost four. The Panthers, however, are coming off a win and with a lot of optimism since they snapped a 10-game losing streak.
This optimism was on display when Castro was asked what to expect from the team for the rest of the season.
“Well, today we finally saw again how it felt to win and we are definitely going to use that and just keep winning from here on out,” Castro said.
Hopefully she is right and can lead this team to get back to .500.
One of the players the Panthers need to hold their own against is Charlotte freshman outside hitter Irem Asci. She is already leading the team in scoring and recorded kills. She is also second on her team in digs with 241. This unique blend of offense and defense could give the Panthers some trouble.
Overall, the new players in the starting lineup need to step up like they did against UAB and Lucia Castro needs to get more involved in offense, as somebody needs to go toe-to-toe with Asci.
The Panthers’ next opponent, Louisiana Tech, comes into the match on a five-game losing streak, which has plunged their record well below .500 at 7-11. What’s worse for them is that they have not won a single game in Conference USA play with a record of 0-5.
The main weakness for Louisiana Tech is defense. They have been outscored by their opponents by over 100 points. Expect the Panthers to get their three top scorers–Lucia Castro, Gloria Levorin and Lea Montavon–heavily involved in setting the offensive tone early.
A key matchup for this game will be between two seniors. For Louisiana Tech, it is outside hitter Rebecca Redgen. On top of almost every offensive and defensive category she leads her team in kills, points and digs by a large margin.
To go up against Redgen, the Panthers have senior outside hitter Martyna Gluchowicz. She is coming off a great match against UAB in which she recorded eight kills, nine digs and four blocks. Gluchowicz has the capability to play lockdown defense to protect the back row and still supply the offense needed to get the win against Louisiana Tech.
Hopefully, after this weekend, the volleyball team can get these two much-needed wins and their Conference USA record back to .500 to stay in the hunt for a top seed.
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