The Theta Tau Tip Squad entered the inaugural AKPsi x OT x PCT volleyball tournament looking to serve up some W’s and unfortunately ended the day only tasting L’s. However, the team had plenty of good moments that should sweeten the taste of the afternoon.
The Tip Squad entered the midday affair with its hopes high. The team had heard the banter about engineers not standing a chance at volleyball and were ready to respond. After three close matches, the Dark, Red, and Gold were unable to disprove the stereotypes, ultimately bowing out of the tournament with a disappointing record of 0-3.
What was most unfortunate for the squad was that each game was within reach. In the first game of the tournament, Tip Squad took the court against PCT. It was a game of runs with multiple lead changes and momentum shifts. Unfortunately for the Dark, Red, and Gold, PCT had the momentum last, eeking outa 16-14 win. Nothing seemed to go right in the second game as Tip Squad ceded the game in 15-11 loss to AKPsi where it never felt like the team had a chance.
In the team’s third game, with a spot to the finals on the line, things seemed dire at first as the Dark, Red, and Gold dug themselves into a deep hole. The opponent was a familiar one as the team once again lined up against PCT. This time, the momentum was largely controlled by PCT until the score was 14-9. It was match point and do or die for Tip Squad.
Hope is a deadly thing. With its back pressed up against the wall, Tip Squad saw a brief glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. Senior ace Tyler Edwards stepped up to the serving line. And proceeded to absolutely dominate. PCT was left defenseless, unable to come up with an answer for Edward’s potent serves. With the score tied at 14, it seemed like Edwards was about to lead Tip Squad to the promised land.
But as quickly as the spark of hope was ignited, it was smothered just as quickly. A mishit serve that fell out of bounds put PCT back on top at match point while also making it the last time Edwards would get a chance to punish PCT. This time, PCT didn’t make any mistake — the final dagger driving home the defeat coming as the ball fell to floor between three different players. And just like that, Tip Squad’s day was over — a lot of effort had gone into a winless day.
“Communication,” super senior Terence Lin said (or repeatedly shouted), was ultimately where the team fell short on the day. While the PCT and AKPsi brothers were yapping constantly, sometimes the sidelines for Tip Squad were a little too silent. The lack of energy made it hard for the team to capture and keep any of the momentum that leaned its way.
Furthermore, today’s demonstration all but confirmed that Tip Squad possesses some of the best athleticism in the pre-professional frat world. Time and time again, the other pre-professional frat brothers were left speechless by how effortlessly junior Alex Jiang was able to land a missile of a spike or how sophomore Henry Sims was easily able to get his hands up for a well-placed block on an otherwise potent shot.
What’s more is that opponents were terrified of having to go up against many of our players. Of note were sophomore Katherine Li who completely ate the other team up whether it be serving, receiving, or setting — she also has the bruises on her legs to prove the extent of her efforts to keep the team in the game. And of course, this column wouldn’t be complete without giving a huge shoutout to senior ace Tyler Edwards.
Down by quite a bit and with the game at matchpoint, Edwards put the team on his shoulders as he won five straight rallies with several points coming right off the serve to tie the game up at 14-all. And although the team ultimately wasn’t able to seal the deal, the fact that the game was tied at all at that point just goes to show the potential that Tip Squad could have in the future given the time to practice and build up chemistry.
Chemistry is one the largest contributors to a successful volleyball team. And that chemistry is almost never formed overnight. The best teams practice day-in and day-out to achieve that ability to just know where each person on the court will be at any given second. While we definitely don’t have enough time for that, just a little bit of practice would go a long way in setting up our hitters with the balls that they like best, which the team struggled to accomplish during the sets.
For now, the “engineers aren’t athletic” group can go to bed with the satisfaction with being proven right, but just wait. Next year, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Tip Squad to flip the script completely — to go from winless to undefeated.
Until then, the Dark, Red, and Gold faithful can turn their energy toward Tip Squad’s closely related cousin, Brick Squad. The unit will be looking to make a deep playoff push in its upcoming matchup this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.