Nathan Tucker
nrtucker@lc.edu

Lewis and Clark head volleyball coach Bron Wilkerson didn’t mince words. “It was a horrible game.” he said to me after the Trailblazers 3-0 loss to the Blue Angels of Kaskaskia on Friday, September 27. “But we’ll get it together. We’ll fix it.”

The intrepid reporter that I am, in my attempts to actually keep track of standard volleyball things such as kills, digs, blocks, and aces and better understand the game in front of me, I missed the forest for the trees, and didn’t observe that on the whole, the Trailblazers were not on the same page. “We’re just not in sync yet. We’re gonna try to get it on Monday, that’s our conference match. 

In my more studious note taking, the positives I noted for L&C were few and far between. All season Bron Wilkerson has been hammering home the need to be “in sync” on the court, and part of that is never really being able to stage a quality run. Some strong plays on offense by the main L&C outside hitters, Janney Hayes and Braeden Lackey, but no real sustained runs of pressure. 

With me sensing that coach Wilkerson didn’t want to focus much more on the contest he thought was terrible, I asked him for the first time this season about playing on the new hardwood surface at Riverbend Arena. His volleyball team has had first dibs on the newly renovated floor, before basketball season begins in earnest in November. “Oh it’s a lot better. Better on the legs and the knees. The girls really like it, I think everyone’s liked it.” 

The Trailblazers look to end the skid on Monday, October 1, as they face Missouri Baptist University’s JV squad, in conference play. For a complete schedule, and more information on all Lewis and Clark athletics, visit LC.edu/athletics.