Nationally ranked and newly crowned conference champs, Cyclones volleyball set sights on postseason

Photo by mvcyclones.com

By Mohammed Jbara, Freelance Contributor

The Cyclones volleyball team is setting itself up for success this season.

The team sees itself with an outstanding 16-4 record and a conference-best 6-0 mark. Currently on a five-game win-streak, the Cyclones had an impressive September, winning nine out of 12 games. With their latest win in their final conference game against Lake County, the Cyclones sit atop the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and are now officially crowned conference champions.

“We always knew we could be conference champions,’’ freshman setter Gianna Dimundo said. “It’s great now we can finally say it.’’

However, they are still hungry for more, setting their sights on further competition.

“The team’s aspiration is to go to Regionals, which it looks like we will, but we want to keep pushing and get to Nationals because we’re ranked 18th in the nation,” Dimundo said. “I don’t even have words to say. I’m just so proud of everybody who has been working so hard.”

The team is a very tight-knit group that sticks together on and off the court.

“We’re all actually really close and we get along with each other which I really like,” Dimundo said. “We have our disputes from time to time, but our coaches handle everything well to keep this group together.”

Dimundo has her eyes set on this season to make her mark: “My goal is to get more aces than errors right now. I’ve been doing good with my aces so far.” An ace is where the ball is hit over the net on a serve and the opposing team can’t return it. “So I’m just hoping to keep pushing and get more,” she continues.

Morton College, expected to be a tough challenger, was easily taken by the Cyclones to contribute towards their conference title.

“We remember hearing that they were pretty good and we beat them in three sets,” Dimundo said. 

The Cyclones have made a name for themselves not just statewide, but nationwide as well. Before regionals, the women still have to finish the rest of the games in the regular season; The Cyclones host the Trojans from Triton College on Tuesday.