The Cobber volleyball team swept Bethel, the number six seed, in the MIAC Quarterfinals on October 30th.
Just two days later, in the MIAC Semifinals, the Cobbers, seeded third, went up against the number two seed, St. Ben’s.
Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out for the Lady Cobbers, who lost 25-22, 25-18, and 25-21.
Nonetheless, head coach Tim Mosser is grateful for how hard his team has worked this year.
“We’re a young team, but we really came a long way this year. There’s a lot of potential,” he said.
Mosser’s volleyball teams have made MIAC appearances 12 straight seasons, and NCAA tournament appearances nine out of the last ten seasons.
“They’ve taken the tradition previous teams have established and carried it on. That will continue on,” he said.
Mosser said he credits his successful teams to lot of mental training. He also credits his juniors and seniors with cultivating the Cobber mentality, and uses acronyms as a mantra to remind the players of the tenants of mental toughness.
“[The upperclassmen] focus on what’s best for the team by putting C.A.R. (confident, aggressive, relaxed) into effect,” he said. “We also use W.I.N. a lot. W.I.N. stands for ‘What can I do now?’ They’re good about utilizing that.”
Mosser said the acronyms keep them focused and the mental training keeps them sharp.
“We do a lot of mental exercising and training,” Mosser said. “Some practices are strictly mental, nothing physical.”
Mosser said throughout the season the team will keep self-talk logs.
“Each girl had a notebook for the season,” he said. “They write down their self-talk in certain situations and look at how it affected their play, and how they can improve [their self-talk].”
During practices and matches, the Cobbers also visualize game play.
“We do this to get into performance state,” Mosser said. “We visualize situations, good and bad, and how to react to them.”
Mosser said these techniques translate into better play in actual situations.
“What the mind thinks, the body can do,” he said.
The Cobbers finished their season 7-4 in the MIAC and 13-11 overall.
