Lady Barons Struggle against Muskingum College

By Dylan Ehle

The Lady Barons played on the road last night against an extremely talented Muskingum College team.  Despite playing at a high level, the Lady Barons fell to Muskingum in three games, 13-25, 18-25, 7-25. 

The Lady Barons had a difficult time finding their rhythm in the first game.  "We came out flat," head coach Kelly Herrmann said, "We struggled a lot in the first game.  They were a more powerful team than us, and we were a bit intimidated." 

The Lady Barons showed a dramatic improvement in the second game.  Sophomore outside hitter Julie Rohrman was a large part of the team's success in this game, as her three aces occurred in this portion of the match.  Rohrman's outstanding play, coupled with the consistently exceptional play that the Lady Barons have come to expect from Ali Aeschliman, they gave Muskingum a hard fought second game, losing only 18-25.

The third game was somewhat experimental for the Lady Barons, as some of the new freshman players were integrated into the rotation.  However, the team did not adapt well to these changes, and, consequently, they lost the final match decisively, 7-25. 

Coach Herrmann took this match as a learning experience for her team.  "Basically, this is a very strong team, and when we play them, we're trying to discover where we stand," Herrmann remarked after the game.  She also stressed the importance of her team's blocking, their greatest weakness of last season, which has improved drastically this year:  "When we block well, we play well, it's as simple as that," Herrmann remarked, "We were up against a tough team, and they overpowered us tonight."

Despite the loss, several Lady Barons posted impressive numbers.  Ali Aeschliman registered seven kills and two aces.  Teresa Marcotte chipped in with 11 assists, while libero Nichole Henson added six digs.

The Lady Barons' next contest is a quad-match at St. Vincent College this Saturday starting at 10am.