Two victories, but no quit in Lady Rams volleyball team

Despite a 2-20 record at the beginning of October, the Lady Rams volleyball team is not throwing in the towel.

The squad is constantly reminded to never give up primarily because head coach Douglas Hunter has numerous inspirational quotes in his office.

However, there are two quotes he preaches to his players daily.

"Today, I must be better than I was yesterday. Tomorrow I must be better than I am today in everything I do" and "Winners never quit and quitters never win.

"[The record] does not indicate the team," Hunter said. 

"The players are improving. The team is improving with over a month of competition left."

The Lady Rams' victories came Sept. 12, when they defeated non-conference opponents Savannah State, 3-0 and   Oct.  2 over Coppin State 3-1. 

The team is not 100 percent healthy.

Freshman Lindsey Wilborn has been sidelined with a thumb injury for 12 matches, and sophomore Kameryn Craig has not played because of a knee injury, which occurred in August.

"The upside of these injuries is we depend more on other players," Hunter said.

"We are working on getting new players from the tryout process.  The two players from the tryouts can not be named at this time due to clearing from the NCAA."

The decision made by Chancellor Reaves to return Winston-Salem State back to Division II has affected many sports in the athletic department, and the volleyball team is no exception.

"It was not a popular decision; however, the decision had to be made," Hunter said.

"In my opinion we did not exploit all of our possibilities by funding money for our programs. 

"This decision will affect the program short and long term.  [On] a positive note to the process, our school hopes to move back to CIAA. 

"I plan [to] encourage kids to stay and come to WSSU.  The process of going back to Division II will affect scholarships for the volleyball team and the rest of the school's athletics," he said.

Coach Hunter said he is waiting on more details regarding scholarships and other funding for the team.

At the end of September, senior and letter winner from last season Annika Barnwell leads with 155 kills followed by junior Ashley Harris with 107. 

Barnwell leads in aces with 17.

Defensively, junior LaKeisha Hawes is the leader with 147 digs, followed by junior Erica Cole with 144.

"Many coaches at any level have expectations for their players," Hunter said. 

"The primary expectation is for our team to match up and beat other MEAC schools. 

[Regardless of our record], I feel confident when we play against other schools in our conference."

  S.C. State sits atop the southern division in the conference, while the Lady Rams are in last place, but WSSU will face their division opponents N.C. A&T and Norfolk State once more, and Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, and S.C. State two times, once on the road, and once at C.E. Gaines Center.

"Preparing for a game or match, a team usually takes hours to plan for the other team.

"I like preparing towards a match with gathering information about the other team," Hunter said. 

 "Our coaching staff gets stats and film to share with our team to prepare for the next opponent.

During practice sessions, we try to get a game plan together to exploit the other team's weakness and limiting their strengths."

The Lady Rams last home game is Nov. 1 against S.C. State and their season concludes Nov. 8 at Norfolk State.