Out of Town Tournament Proves Eye Opening for Lady Jackets

By Madison Boggs | For the Howard Payne women’s volleyball team, an out-of-state competition was an extremely exciting opportunity.

Wednesday, September 8th, the Lady Jackets travelled over ten hours to Colorado Springs, CO for a two-day tournament that would challenge the whole team.

Head Volleyball Coach Colleen Westfall said, “I was super excited for my seniors especially that we got to take an out-of-state trip this year. I am super proud of how my freshman performed, and overall, everyone did amazing.”

Of the four games played, the Lady Jackets took one win on Friday, September 10th.

“Friday’s games were really tough. After such a hard battle, it felt so good to bring home a win,” said first-year player Hannah Parnell.

“As a coach, you always want to get the “W” but to see my girls’ joy and their hard work pay off to get a win after a hard game is great. It is a big accomplishment, and it was awesome,” Westfall said.

COVID-19 has not been easy for any Yellow Jacket athletes, but in some ways it has made athletes stronger on and off the court. The Lady Jackets volleyball team felt the influence of the pandemic strongly leading up to their tournament.

“I had two girls get quarantined the day before we were supposed to leave for Colorado. COVID has really prepared us to be on our toes and be on point. Our coaching staff is great, so we spent the bus ride to Colorado strategizing our game plan for the next few days. Everyone gets their voices heard and we all work together. It was tough, but I think working through COVID really got us prepared for situations like that,” Westfall said.

Even with some tough losses, the team was able to see the good in their time spent in Colorado. They also had the opportunity to tour the Garden of the Gods in their spare time.

“I really loved getting to hang out with my teammates at the hotel. Hanging out and getting to know everyone better was definitely my favorite part of the weekend,” Parnell said.

The Lady Jackets fought hard every single game. The competition during the tournament was difficult, but it really challenged the team in a way they had not been challenged before.

“Because we are in Texas, we are super limited on D3 schools that we can play, so it was good to see the girls interact with different teams in that way, and the competition was strong. We had two games on Saturday that went to five sets each, so my girls played a total of ten sets that day,” said Westfall.

“We lost both of those games, but it was a hard battle for every point,” Westfall added.

“We had several really close games throughout the weekend. We had to learn how to outsmart the other teams that we played. We had to focus on each point and play our best every single time,” Parnell said.

“Going to Colorado and fighting hard for two days straight is not easy, but I was very proud of them for all of my girl’s hard work that weekend,” Westfall said.

HPU students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to cheer on our Lady Jackets volleyball team at the Brownwood Coliseum on Friday, October 8th at 5p.m.

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