Pacer volleyball takes on the Liberty Flames

By Emerson Scollo

William Peace University’s volleyball team had its spring season match against Liberty University on April 6, the first time the program has faced a Division 1 NCAA team.

“We’ve worked super hard in the offseason, in the weight room, and during our practices to prepare not only for the scrimmage, but also for the fall,” said Georgia Grace Anderson, a sophomore captain on the WPU Volleyball team. “We’re all super excited to be in that competitive atmosphere again.”

Liberty is a Division 1 school located in Lynchburg, Virginia. D1 is considered the highest level of college athletics.

Keslee Hylton, a junior, said the team went in “seeing it as just a good opportunity and to have fun and to just accept the challenge and not get mad if things go badly.”

“I’m really excited just for the opportunity to play against a D1 school and to just be in the gym, with the facilities that they have, because I grew up in Virginia and I’ve been to Liberty so many times,” Hylton said.

To finish off the spring season, the Pacers played an intersquad scrimmage at WPU on April 10.

The team hit the ground running in the spring season to prepare for a strong fall regular season.

“As a team, we discuss what kind of legacy we want to leave behind us,” said Hannah Collier, a junior captain on the team. “From every game to every rep, we are focused on being intentional about progressing as athletes and as people. We have created a strong family atmosphere within the team and I see it only growing and achieving

Coach Hannah Marshall is off to her second year coaching WPU’s volleyball team and has seen major success and growth within the program. She led the team to a record-breaking season in her first fall season with the most wins in a single season for the WPU volleyball program.

“I think there has been a phenomenal foundation laid out by previous coaches, senior players, and we have a lot of returners coming in,” said Marshall.

“We continue to focus on our core values, which would be academic excellence, winning culture, and family. Then if we continue to strengthen that and really focus on those values, I can see us going really, really far next year and growing not only as individuals but as a team as a whole.”