BY ERIN MADDEN
STAFF WRITER
The Lady Barons volleyball team hosted their second annual Alumni Match Oct. 11
in the Finnegan Fieldhouse. The current Lady Barons pulled out the 15-10 win over the
alumni players for their second consecutive alumni match win.
“Last year, the alumni match was pretty intense,” Head Coach Kelly Hermann
said. “Those alumni are playing for pride. They are fired up and they want to win.”
Hermann really stressed the importance of the alumni in any program but especially in a
program that is still young by NCAA standards. The volleyball program is in its 11th year
with the team still seeking its first conference championship.
“To be able to invite our alumni here and have them see where we are at and feel a part
of what we are doing, is really important,” Hermann said. “They are a part of what they
are doing. We wouldn’t be here without them.”
Alumni night festivities included more than just the match, ranging from a dinner to a
jersey ceremony for the current players.
Prior to the match, the current volleyball players, their family members, and volleyball
alumni enjoyed good food and fellowship in the Fieldhouse.
When the match was over, the current players took part in a jersey ceremony. Each
family wrote a letter to their daughter which was read while the daughter received her
jersey.
The event was also live-streamed for those families who could not make the trip to
Steubenville while the Rev. Sean Sheridan, TOR, president of Franciscan University of
Steubenville, read the letters for those absent families.
“Two things are really important to me beyond our team right here, right now,” Hermann
said. “One is the parents, and the other thing is our alumni. To be able to invite
everyone here is really important.”