Lucas Montandon
Less than a year ago, it was announced that the Principia College Women’s volleyball season was over and that they would play as a club for the 2025 season. Flash forward to now, the team just won its first match since 2019.
Principia Volleyball had been slow to build its roster back up after the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in seasons like 2022, where players from other sports joined the team, just to keep the team numbers high enough to play. Last year was the climax of this struggle as numbers got so low, the season had to be cut short.
Additionally, the team’s former head coach, Geoffrey Davis, stepped away from his role. “He has worked tirelessly for the past three years to support Principia’s volleyball program,” said the Principia Watercooler announcement written by former Athletic Director Ann Pierson.
Now, the team is led by interim Head Coach Alana Hinson, a graduate of the Principia College class of 2023. Hinson expressed gratitude for the opportunity to coach the team. “The fact that Coach Ro (Athletic Director Ramiro Dominguez) and Coach Ann had enough faith in my sports knowledge and strategic mindset that I could be successful was very reassuring,” said Hinson.
Hinson was a basketball player primarily, she said, playing throughout her childhood and as a student at Principia. She served as a graduate assistant, helping coach the women’s basketball team last year. She also took over recruitment for the volleyball program after Coach Davis left in the fall.
Winning that first match since 2019 was a big deal for the Panthers. “That was so fun, oh my gosh, I didn’t expect it because there was so much of a battle between the two teams,” junior Alex Kibbe said.
The game had a lot of fan turnout, said Hinson, something she hopes will continue when the team plays its next home matches in October. “The crowd that came and the energy they brought with them really added to our emotional state,” she said.
Kibbe was even more excited for her teammates to finally see the reward of winning a match after the uncertainty of last year. Hinson noted, “It’s one thing to play your sport because you love your sport, but to constantly not have that positive gratification that comes from winning a match, that can be very hard mentally.”
According to Kibbe, the team members didn’t even know they were going to have a season or who their coach was until midway through the summer.
“It didn’t seem there was going to be any forward motion with the volleyball team,” said Kibbe. “There was a lot of confusion, so coming back and midway through the summer getting a text that we were going to have a season was very exciting.”
Now the team looks to build off that first win and earn its way back into the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). They have 12 total matches listed on their schedule, including three at home in October.