Heading into the Atlantic 10 Tournament tonight in Charlotte, N.C., senior middle blocker Sutton Lasater said that she has her own methods for getting psyched up for tournament games.
“Personally, I have a play list on my iTunes that I listen to before every game,” Lasater said. “I have my own little routine that I do before every game. On a whole, though, the team atmosphere before the game is really light and fun. We play really loud music and joke around. It helps us relax and get hyped up for the game.”
After finishing the season with a record of 22-6, No.3-No.3-seeded Saint Louis University Volleyball is set to play No. 6 George Washington University tonight.
The light atmosphere that the Billikens have before games helps them to stay focused and gets them energized for the game, junior middle blocker Lauren Christman said.
“I am not really into pregame rituals,” Christman said. “I love to just joke around with my teammates and have a good time before the game. It’s nice to be able to focus on something other than the game. At the same time, we are getting pumped up for the game.”
The team has been preparing its general skill and organization all season. As the tournament approaches, Lasater said that the focus of the team has changed from overall strategy and play to individual tactics and skills based on position.
“At this point in the season, our practices are not about changing anything huge,” Lasater said. “We need to focus on the play on our side of the net in order to beat whoever we face, rather than worrying about what’s happening on the other side of the net.”
For Christman, this breakdown into position groups has helped her and her teammates to focus on individual things that they need to accomplish in order for the team to be successful in the tournament.
“I need to focus on blocking and transition hitting,” Christman said. “When we break into groups, the middle blockers have been working on our speed of blocking and returns. In general, we just have to be quick and strong in order to do the best that we can do.”
Last season the team snagged the conference championship title. If the team beats GW, it will likely face two teams that have proved difficult for the Bills earlier in the season: Xavier and Dayton. Dayton was the only team to give the Billikens two losses in the regular season.
“If everything goes as planned, we will play George Washington, then Xavier, and then Dayton,” Christman said. “Xavier and Dayton are definitely our biggest rivals, not only in this tournament, but in our sport as a whole. We split our two games against Xavier, and we lost both games to Dayton, whom we beat in the tournament last year.”
Christman said that the Billikens have to take one game at a time and play every game as if it were their last.
“Since this is a tournament, every team we face is our biggest competitor,” Christman said. “Every team is standing in our way of the title. Of course, we have our biggest rivals being Xavier and Dayton, whom we hope to face if everything works out. For right, now, though we have to focus on the task at hand: beating George Washington University.”
