16
THE GUILFORD IAN
Journal relates experience on
Butch Maier
Sports Editor
The Guilford College Volleyball Team:
special players, special people. Many of you
have probably seen them in action on the
court, but here's an insider's view on what a
road trip with them is like.
Friday, Oct. 11
7:30 a.m.
My alarm goes off.
8:11 a.m. On the bus
"Hey Coach, Em didn't make it,"
jokester Carolyn Doss says as Emily King
hides behind a bus seaL
"What happened?" asks Head Coach
Gayle Cuirie knowingly.
"She lost track of time," Doss replies.
King grins while listening to her
housemate throw Currie a line.
"Well anybody's dispensible," Currie
adds.
The jig was up.
11:45 a.m.
Currie awakes to the beckoning of play
ers for a food stop. Walking up the aisle, she
notices her polar bear "Bubba" in Doss'
clutches. She snatches it away from the
kidnapper.
12:15 p.m. Somewhere in Virginia
"It's weird not knowing where you are.
Do you know where we are?"
"Somewhere in Virginia," Chris replies
specifically.
We walk across the road to McDonald's
with Anice the manager and a freshman —
Arlene.
3:15 p.m.
We arrive at the Lantham, Md., Red
Roof Inn.
4:34 p.m. Gallaudet Courtside
Three matches are taking place; Coach
takes the players outside for a team meeting.
Gallaudet, a deaf team, plays in front of
us. It's interesting to watch them communi
cate, frequently using hand signals and fa
cial expressions to relate to each other.
5:15 p.m. vs. Catholic
Down 11-13, up 15-14. lose 15-17 in
game one. Up 6-0, down 10-12, tied at 13 in
game two.
After a few side outs, a spike by Laura
makes it 14-13. Then Catholic hits a ball out
to tie the match at a game apiece.
"Intensity," the Guilford players yell in
unison to break the huddle before game
three. Rally scoring. Confidence high.
Down 4-2, the Lady Quakers reel off
five straight points behind Christine
Schroeder's serves. Then we go up 14-8 and
CJ. the bus driver yells, "We got it we got
it!" After Catholic hits the ball into the net
we do have it—a victory.
Saturday, Oct. 12
7:25 a.m. McDonald's
"Six hours of sleep in volleyball season
is a lot," said Currie. "Usually I'm either
doing bedcheck or on a recruiting trip late at
night."
8:10 a.m. On the road
Molly Seabrook is braiding Christine's
hair as usual.
"Jen, have you read these chapters?"
asked Susan. "I've read the first four," an
swered Jen.
Here' s a reminder that these athletes are
students and must find time whenever pos
sible to study. This makes the team's overall
GPA (well above 3.0) that much more im
pressive.
8:25 a.m. Outside the Gallaudet gate
"It' s really important that we go out and
do well," Laura said. "Because we have a
chance to do really good this season. For us
seniors, this is out last tournament. It means
a lot to us. Let's go get 'em."
8:40 a.m. Athletic Complex Basement
I walk with Chris downstairs for some
ice. We are then sent upstairs behind a deaf
person. He leads us to a kitchen to scoop ice.
Another deaf guy comes in protesting our
getting ice.
Now there we are, Chris and I, standing
in between a signing argument It was fasci
nating. Chris decides we have enough ice
and we thank them and walk back to the
court.
8:47 a.m. Courtside
After exercise drills, Carolyn runs up to
Currie.
"You need to have that [hip] pad on for
five matches," Currie tells her senior.
Though not a big hitter, this shows how
important Doss' health is to the team. The
scrappy defender goes all out on diving for
balls and thus must wear a donut pad on her
injured hip.
"When landing [in a dive], you gotta
come in like an airplane and ease into it,"
Currie explains. "Carolyn comes in like a
helicopter."
10:40 a.m. Post-match
Guilford has just defeated Greensboro
College 15-5,11-15,15-13.1 was line judge.
I had to remind myself to forget the people
when calling points.
10:58 a.m. vs. Western Maryland (2-0)
Down 11-7 in game one, Currie calls a
timeout Guilford wins eight of the last ten
points to win as the Quakers' entourage of
half a dozen parents rise to their feet to
cheer.
In game two, the most remarkable point
yet was played. Carolyn layed out for her
patented one-fisted dive dig to punch the
ball to Trudy on the wing. Buckingham
spiked it to the corner of the court. This put
the Lady Quakers up 5-2 and me in awe.
The match ended how it usually does,
with Brenda spiking one home. Time for
lunch.
Noon Classroom 214
The parents have prepared a feast And
I mean a FEAST! Sandwiches, baked goods,
drinks—you name it.
1:22 p.m. Huddle before EM match
"Intimidate them with your attack,"
Currie says. Guilford does just that in win
ning 15-11,15-7.
Sports Commentary
2:20 p.m. 4-0 and headed to the semis
"We did a lot of good things-let's keep
our momentum." Currie decides after her
team swept through the first three matches
of the day.
3:03 p.m. The semis
"Here we go Guilco, here we go," Laura
cheers. Ali serves to a 5-0 lead. Brends
spikes, Clarice spikes, Laura spikes. The
Quakers go up 11-0 before triumphing 15-1.
The Lady Quakers turn the match
around. A successful tip over the net by
Trish Allman wins it, 15-12.
"We're in the finals," Mr. Raney shouts.
4:19 p.m. In the finals
Two return errors put Guilford in a hole
at 0-3. At 3-8, Currie calls for a TO. There's
a sense of urgency in the air. The Lady
Quakers fall behind 7-14.
Slowly, Guilford chips at the lead until
it is theirs! 11-14... 12-14... 15-14! A couple
points later, the Quakers have pulled off one
most incredible comebacks, winning ten of
the last eleven points.
4:55 p.m. Game two
Guilford quickly takes advantage of the
momentum carryover for a 2-0 lead. Sud
denly, the spikers again find themselves
trailing (4-7).
Guilford goes up 14-12 behind good,
hard play and when a ball drops harmlessly
on the Western Maryland side, the Lady
Quakers have won the title.
Study in
Tokyo, Japan
1992-93
Guilford College -
International Christian University
Student Exchange
mm for more information:
fat Lottie ftorei
ftrcfidaCe 206
I /P&ti 1 Martha Cooky
-J am^ US ucat^on
November 15, 1991
the road
5:22 p.m. 1991 Tournament Champs
"No singing [on the bus]," a tired Ali
pleads to her teammates.
"The determination you showed and
the hard, hard work you showed... it's nice
to see people really work hard," Currie com
pliments her team.
"One big 'yes' for me," Laura offers.
"Yes!" the squad responds.
"Donut!" shouts the team for Carolyn.
"Ahhh, Quake," the spikers cheer their
trademark call.
After midnight
I talk it up with CJ. in the front. He
relates to me some of his bus driving stories
and his days playing ball against Danny
Manning.
2:00 a.m. Ragan-Brown parking lot
The players are not too pleased about
having to wake up. Carolyn, Laura, and
Trudy played every point of the tournament
We nearly have to carry Laura back to her
room.
I don't want this to end, but it must I
miss going with the team —"my team"—to
away matches, but times change. I'm glad
that I got to experience at least one more
road trip with the spikers. They are a really
neat bunch of people, besides being talented
athletes.