In volleyball, a dig is a physical act that controls an attack from the opposing team; this year “dig” has taken on a whole new meaning.
For the Blackburn women’s volleyball team, the past few seasons haven’t necessarily gone according to plan. In their 2014 campaign, the Beavers went 3-29 with a .094 winning percentage. Last season, they finished 4-25 with a .138. And in their first 20 games this season they have collected a record of 1-19 with a sub .100 winning percentage. Despite the numbers, the team remains positive and hopeful.
Often in sports, the box score and win-loss record doesn’t fully do justice to how the game actually went and it certainly doesn’t tell the complete story. It leaves out the most important parts: the ups and downs, the competitive desire to win and the determination of both teams. With those, you only get one glimpse into a long hard-fought battle.
My hope for the rest of the season is to play to the best of our ability and continue growing as a team everyday
It’s not uncommon for a basketball team to play a great game, but lose by double digits. The box score may look bad, but what it doesn’t show is that the game may have been back and forth until the last two or three minutes of the fourth quarter and then one team pulled away after the losing team began fouling and sending the first to the line to stop the clock and shoot free throws.
The same idea can be said for the Beavers’ record. What are the three aspects the volleyball team’s record doesn’t show? Heart. Determination. Hope. It’s not the big picture; the big picture is so much larger than a simple record. For the volleyball team, it’s about growth, keeping a positive attitude, building the program up and digging deep within themselves to keep fighting it out in every set.
As a senior criminal justice major, Marlee Lindstrom remains hopeful for both the season and the future of the program. “My hope for the rest of the season is to play to the best of our ability and continue growing as a team everyday,” she said. “The more we grow this year, the easier it will be to carry into next year for the girls who will still be here. I also have high hopes that the program will be able to grow. The talent is there; we just need to put all the pieces together.”