The Seahawk volleyball team fell to William & Mary last Saturday, losing their 12th conference game in a row. UNCW is winless in CAA play on the year and have fallen to 6-21 overall.

The match was UNCW’s final home bout and senior night, highlighted by the acknowledgement of seniors Megan Nash and Jacqueline Crane. The two seniors failed to end their careers with a win at Hanover gym, losing to the Tribe 3-1. Juniors Lindsey Strucko and Paula McConnell led the way for the Seahawks as Strucko had eight kills and McConnell recorded six blocks. Nash had six kills and Crane recorded 18 assists.

The bright spot for the Seahawks came in game three as UNCW beat the Tribe handily 25-14. They held William & Mary to a .000 attack percentage, while posting a combined .312 attack percentage. The Seahawks got out to an 8-1 advantage and never looked back. McConnell, along with red-shirt freshman Kimberly Friedl, combined for seven total blocks in game three. UNCW had a successful day when it came to blocking, beating the Tribe in that category 10-8.

Game four was the pivotal point in the match and the Seahawks saw all of their momentum disappear. The Tribe got out to a quick 10-2 lead and the Seahawks never had a chance, losing 25-9.

Head coach Jennifer McCall is in her fifth season at UNCW and has had similar struggles every year since she began in 2004. In five years she has won two conference games and has failed to lead the Seahawks to anything but last in the CAA.

“Competition is tough in the CAA,” McCall said. “We face a lot of talented teams each year. We are a young team who is gaining experience and we are building a foundation with some really talented players.”

McCall is right about one thing. UNCW does have talented players. Several of the Seahawks won national championships in high school and were being looked at by big name universities. Many played on conference winning high school teams and played of prestigious club teams. Almost all of the Seahawks were awarded with all-conference honors before coming to UNCW.

However, the Seahawks aren’t the young, inexperienced team of recent years. The starting line-up usually varies but the most consistent line-up is composed of two seniors, three juniors and a sophomore.

Being young isn’t going to be an excuse any longer for the Seahawks. McCall finally has a group of players completely recruited by herself, and the Seahawks need to be in a win now mentality.

McCall admits that the Seahawks are going to need to step up their play if they plan on being competitive in the CAA.

“We need a more balanced attack. Our blockers are doing a good job but we need more kills from our hitters,” she said.

The Seahawks finish the season this weekend against George Mason and James Madison. After that UNCW will head into spring season where they will work on necessary things to prepare for the 2009 campaign.

“We are going to work on a lot of individual training,” McCall said. “We will do a lot of on court work as well as strength training. This spring will give needed experience to our freshmen and we will be adding new plays for next year.”