Nov. 18, 2007

It sounds cliché to begin with "another season has come and gone" but I feel nothing else can fit. Each time you cross off a season of eligibility you find yourself feeling a bit of remorse. What if I had dug that one hit, or passed that one serve. No matter which way you look at it there is no going back in time to fix your mistakes. All you have to rely on is the fact you could not have given any more of yourself. Whether the volleyball team and I ran off the court victors or wanting to play just one more game we did give all of ourselves for Western Carolina University and its athletic program because we are, of course, Catamounts.

Now looking back on the season I find myself missing the competition, the team's favorite bus driver, Rodney, and most of all my time on the court with our senior, Meredith Harmon. No one could have led this team better and now we'll have her friendship to hang onto. We were at least able to leave her with a win during her final match in Ramsey.

Beating Furman, who at that point was ranked second in the conference, put us one step closer to qualifying for the SoCon tournament. Only the top eight teams went to Chattanooga, Tennessee and we were ranked ninth. We had two more matches left in the season, against Elon and UNCG, and we had to win both to proceed to postseason. Unfortunately it was easier said than done. We faced Elon and lost in three games then lost in four games to UNCG. We concluded our season not necessarily on a satisfying note but rather on a hopeful one.

Now we have the winter and spring to get stronger with our weight training, disciplined with our cardio workouts, and skillful with our individual practices. We have a lot of work still to do in the off season because next year is a new year with a new team with the same goal in mind, to find ourselves owners of some conference jewelry.