Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

November 20, 2017

Hello everyone!!

The 2017 season has come to an end. I’m so thankful and grateful to have been able to share an inside look at the team with you this season. These past two years as the blogger have gone so fast and I hope to come back next season to share with you again!

We may have not achieved everything we were pushing for this year such as a G-MAC Championship or G-MAC regular season wins, but I believe that this team achieved some other goals that may have been more important than the physical goals we put before ourselves. Before the season started, we talked a lot about what Cedarville volleyball is. Some of that includes being more than a teammate, but a sister in Christ and being diligent in praying for the teams that we play.

We really truly strive to be a team that understands that God divinely appointed us to be in every situation we are in and He put every single person on this team for a reason. That is why we pray all the time that whatever happens, whether we win, or we lose, that His will might be done. This could mean that only one person in the crowd was encouraged by our integrity in honor calls or how we pray with teams after we play. These are not things we see but we can look back on and have a confidence in that God had a plan for each game we played. This is really tough to do in the moment, especially when the season is not going as you planned and maybe you are not performing at your best.

It was hard for us to put these two concepts together sometimes. Just like it’s hard in life for us to understand that God puts us through trials on purpose so that we might lean on Him for a future hope and completion of His promises. But I think with the completion of the season, we learned as at team how to do this. I hope and pray that Cedarville volleyball will always push each other to keep God’s plan first.

Volleyball is the ultimate team sport and you can’t be successful by yourself! We walked through this season together and saw a lot of highs and a lot of lows and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I learned more than I would have had it gone any other way. I’m thankful for it. I’m thankful for my teammates and coaches and all who surround and support this team!

I hope that you have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Until next year…

For Him,

Tay and the Team


November 13, 2017

Post-season is here...

and it’s TOURNEY TIME!

This week we take the 3 ½ hour drive on Wednesday morning to Hillsdale College in Michigan for the G-MAC Tournament! We are so excited to compete in one of the most competitive G-MAC Volleyball Tournaments ever. This season was a battle and honestly, I believe a lot of the teams are very equally matched. If you are in the area, come watch! These games are going to be intense! Last time we went to Hillsdale we competed very well, and we hope to show up the same way this week.

Our first opponent is Walsh University. In regular season, we faced Walsh at home and came out with a thrilling five-set win.

A few things we are going to be focused on in the short few practices we have before our match on Thursday are...
 

• Scouting well and strategic learning/practicing
• Focusing on one point at a time
• Continuing to "be where our feet are"
• ENJOYING THE JOURNEY!!!!
• Thanking God for every opportunity He puts in front of us

One verse that I have been dwelling on recently is,

Galatians 1:10 which says… Excited to share with you next week about the tournament! Have a blessed week!

Love, the CUVB team and Tay! :)


November 7, 2017

It’s the last week of G-MAC play!!...

Are you kidding me? Where has the time gone? I cannot believe how quickly time is going. This weekend we will play our last two conference matches against Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday and Trevecca on Saturday. If we finish out these two games with wins, we will put ourselves in a decent position for the conference tournament the following week.

With a split week in wins last week (L versus Tiffin, W versus Ohio Dominican), we are making a push this week to make the peak of our season come at the end. We had a great practice today (Monday) that focused on out of system play and aggressive serve receive play. It has been really fun watching the team work hard in practice lately. We absolutely love competing against each other which makes for some pretty fun and intense practices! I am very excited to for the end of conference play and the beginning of POST SEASON tournament play! The conference has been so fun to compete in this year and the tournament will be a battle as well. Hopefully we will work hard and keep our season going as long as possible…#palmtreesarenice…on the other hand…

A couple of fun things the team has been up to…
 

• Spent last Friday night in our own free time! A new concept for us, but we were thankful to coach for a little R&R!!
• Sunday night was our annual pick-a-date and we didn’t let the storm get us down but competed in a scavenger hunt and ended the night with some laughs and great food courtesy of the Reep’s! (Thanks again!:)
• Studying hard…not sure if this is fun, but we sure do a lot of it!
• Meeting in our d-groups weekly to encourage and read God’s word together

 Thanks for following the team!! See you next week!!

In Him,

Tay


October 31, 2017

Hello faithful Cedarville volleyball family!

I hope that whatever you are doing, the Lord is blessing you immensely! The team has been working hard at school this week already and is continuing to look forward to our last few regular season matches before the G-MAC Tournament.

Last week we had a great match on Tuesday against Indianapolis. We played with intensity and consistency and won in three sets. Then we spent the rest of the week preparing for Hillsdale and Findlay on the weekend but instead of being able to use that preparation in scouting we struggled to even compete. This was a huge setback for us and to say the least, we didn’t show up to either match. It’s something we’ve moved on from and have let go of (though we personally are reviewing film from the weekend). We are continuing to push on with our goals). Thankfully God is still good (AMEN!) and He has bigger plans for this team than we can imagine.

Tuesday of this week we take the quick trip to Tiffin University for a big non-conference match and end the week on Saturday with the final home match of the season against Ohio Dominican (G-MAC). Saturday is SENIOR DAY and we will be so excited to honor and play with our seniors who deserve so much love and thanks! We hope to see you there! The match is at 3 p.m.

It will be (and already is) a busy week of classes, studying, practicing, playing, and growing! Pray that the team stays healthy and dedicated in all that they’re doing :) Thank you for following along this season!

In Him,

Tay


October 23, 2017

We are currently nine weeks into the season and it has absolutely flown by. We are getting down to the last few weekends of G-MAC play which means we are getting closer to tournament time! But before I get ahead of myself, I’ll tell you a little bit about our three-match campaign this past weekend.

The team finished up mid-term week on Wednesday and headed into "Fall Break" ready to play some volleyball in West Virginia!! We left campus at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning embarking on our adventure. We took our time and made a pit stop for lunch at Panera (YUM!), one of our favorite places to eat! We relaxed in the bus (aka our second home) and did homework until we arrived at Alderson Broaddus for our first match of the weekend. We started the match fantastic in set one and maybe became a bit too confident and ran into a few hiccups during the rest of the match. It was a match of runs which put us in a fifth set. For lack of better words, we crippled across the finish line with a win. Not the path we wished to take for this match, but the overarching win was our ultimate goal.

That night, we traveled a little way and stopped at an IHOP for a late dinner (coach enjoyed some pumpkin spice pancakes…happy fall!) and arrived at our hotel for the weekend. I’m pretty sure we live in hotels during season and this one was our favorite so far! We hit the hay to rest up for our Friday morning surprise adventure. In the morning, we headed out to Fort Prickett and had the opportunity to learn a little bit about families that lived in WV in the 1700's. We spent time listening to stories of the Prickett family, listening to stories from our driver Tammy, and watching fabric be made by hand. It was so interesting and I kind of wished we had more time there! The scenery is beautiful, and history is one of my favorite things.

Later that day we headed to David & Elkins for our second match of the weekend. The match went very well for us, a great improvement of play on our behalf from the night before. We figured out some focus and intensity problems we had the night before. We finished the match 3-0 in sets. After the match, Davis & Elkins generously gave us some leftover food they had from their pre-game grill out which we gratefully took! We’re weren’t going to have enough time to make it to the restaurant we were planning on going to. God is good, and Davis & Elkins was kind enough to provide!

We then traveled back to our hotel to get some rest for Saturday’s match against Ohio Valley. We woke up ready to play and finish off the weekend with another win. We headed to the school in the morning and arrived and warmed up well in a difficult gym (low ceilings) to play. Ohio Valley gave us a great match! It was tight each set, yet we squeaked out a 3-0 win in the end. This brand new OVU team showed up to play and we learned some more of our weaknesses on the court in turn. But, all in all, we came off the weekend with three wins. Something that is difficult to do! It’s very tiring but the team didn’t crash until we got on the bus to come back home! That was our Fall Break in WV!

We are excited for a HUGE week of play as we clinched a spot in the G-MAC tourney with our wins, we look forward to playing for seeding. Thanks for reading! Please continue to pray for the team to find time to rest physically as well as rest in the Lord this week!! We are thankful for you!

Tay & the Team


October 17, 2017

I am currently writing this blog in the back of the Cedarville Jackets bus on our way home from the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Illinois. It’s about 9:45 p.m. and I’ve been doing homework for about two and a half hours. I think a lot of my teammates could say the same. We only have about an hour and a half to go until we get back to the comforts of Cedarville, but we are very content right where we are now for a few reasons.

I mean, if six hours in a bus doesn’t motivate you to crank out some homework, then I’m not sure what does! We are thankful for this weekend and are happy as we come home with two great wins over UW-Parkside and Wayne State, and a very hard fought five-set loss against McKendree. The crossover weekend previously has not been our greatest weekend and we’ve encountered a lot of trial in the past, but this time we turned the tables and showed the Midwest Region what we are capable of doing. We were able to push aside the crazy environment of eight collegiate volleyball matches all going on in the same small area and execute our game plans very effectively.

After playing at home for seven straight matches, sometimes creating your own energy and drive can be difficult to get back into, but the team rose to the occasion with flying colors. Though we should have come out 3-0 on the weekend, we left the gym this weekend accomplishing many of our goals. We keep improving in different areas every single time we play!

This upcoming week, we will get back to practicing, only for a few short days until we leave for a three-day weekend of matches in West Virginia! So, as I sit here anxious to get back to CU, reflecting on a great weekend full of fun volleyball and meaningful conversations with players, I remember to cherish these moments on the bus with my team. They will be gone in the blink of an eye! Team=Family and this family is thankful for God’s provision on a successful weekend! Thanks for reading! See you next week!!

Tay and the Team


October 10, 2017

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great week!

The team just finished a great week and are doing well! The long home-stand stretch has sadly come to an end. We finished it up with two awesome and hard-fought wins on Friday against Walsh and Saturday against Malone. These two wins put us at 7-2 in the G-MAC and 9-10 overall. As far as our past seven home matches, we went 6-1. Our two matches this past week went very well. Coach did a great job of preparing us for these matches and then we came out and executed our game plan efficiently.

At the beginning of the week we took some time to slow down our game and look at a few things we each needed to work on from the week before. It was just a great focused week of volleyball. We have absolutely loved playing at home. It is so nice to sleep in our own beds and not miss any classes. We also love our fans, they are die-hard. I’m not kidding when I say that! I need to give a shout-out to my brother, Bryce, who hasn’t missed a home game yet I don’t think…I’m sure there’s so many more just like him and the team is so thankful for you! Cedarville is the best! We wish we could always play home, but now it’s time to do some traveling and show some other venues how much we’ve improved recently!

This weekend we will travel to Aurora, Illinois outside of Chicago to the Great Lakes Center and play in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament (GLIAC, GLVC, and G-MAC teams) where we will compete in the top half against Wisconsin-Parkside, McKendree, and Wayne State. I am really looking forward to playing some great teams and where we can play and improve our standing in the region.

Before then, the team will be focusing on classes and practice! I ask that you pray that we get the rest we need to be successful in everything the Lord has put in front of us to do!

Thank you for your constant support! I’ll be back next week to update you on the Crossover! See ya soon!

In Him,

Tay and the Team


October 3, 2017

I was at a loss this past weekend thinking about what to share with you all this week. So, I hope some of my random thoughts will suffice! It was another week of matches and practices, and to be honest it was a tough one - including some intense practices and a tough loss against Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday. Even so, I will share with you some of our highlights!

We won the "Knight of the Jackets Cup" match against Urbana last Tuesday and got to keep the trophy for another year in our team room. We are continually meeting with our small groups on a weekly basis and have been able to fellowship with each other outside of a volleyball setting. Each group is going through their own study and it has been so good to see each other grow spiritually. Our "White Out/Faith and Family" match last Friday against Trevecca drew a great crowd and we were able to get another G-MAC win in three sets in front of some awesome church families and friends.

And personally, God used our outreach to KWC players in a faithful way for me to start a relationship with one of their players. On another note, through hard weeks, through losses, and through frustrating performances, God has taught me something this week I thought I would share with you. He has helped me to learn to a greater degree that through everything He is ever-present. Jeremiah 23:24 says, "Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord." That is hard for us to grasp sometimes, especially when we are on the volleyball court. I know I am not constantly praying to God as I go up to attack a ball, but I have found myself in a conversational spirit with God during a volleyball game. I ask Him to help me check my attitude and my intent as I interact with my teammates and I ask Him to infiltrate our actions as a team as we react to circumstances in a match. It is this constant mind set that God is with us that is so difficult to attain, but what God wants so dearly from us, that this team can flourish in.

We will continue with the season and learn as we go. We have already grown in countless ways as a team, but I pray that this week we continue with this mind set; we serve and love an omnipresent God! We have a lot of season left, and our focus will only be keyed in even more this week than last week. We take each day and try to become better than we were the day before. Without a match until Friday and Saturday, hard work and rest will be the name of game this week! I’ve never seen a more dedicated team than this Cedarville Volleyball team and we will keep improving!!!

Thank you for listening to a couple things that have been on my heart, though they may be random, I hope it gives you a look into what God has been working on in us. I pray you have a blessed week.

In Him,

Tay


September 25, 2017

It was a great week for Cedarville Volleyball! We are now starting to get into the middle of the season and well into G-MAC play. This past week we had our home opener on Friday and another home match on Saturday. Before the awesome weekend we had, we put a ton of work during practice. I can’t tell you that it was one of our greatest practice weeks ever, but we pushed each other harder than we ever have before. It was a tough week honestly! But the team didn’t back down when put under some pressure (athletically and academically!!). That intense week paid off greatly on the weekend like I mentioned before!!!

We came out with two great sweep wins over Lake Erie and Ursuline! These two teams came to play, but our home atmosphere and our focus and determination seemed to be overpowering.

The team had so much fun on Friday and I believe that’s why we played the way we did! So huge shout out to our fans and our community that showed up for a record-setting home opener! Even to the faithful few who supported us on Saturday through the fire alarm incident! Who would have thought that two times this season we would be sitting outside the Callan Athletic Center waiting patiently for the fire department to let us back in the building to play! God definitely has a sense of humor…Hopefully we won’t have any more interruptions this season :) Anyway, the team really enjoyed this week of volleyball.

We finally on Friday had that one match where everything was clicking! We have been working so hard to get here and I can’t wait to keep improving every match we play. This upcoming week, we have three more G-MAC matches to play. Tuesday, we face Urbana, a fun area rival match we’ve been promoting! Friday’s match at 7 p.m. is the WHITE OUT match against Trevecca Nazarene where ya’ll can where your free T-shirt you got last Friday! Lastly, we play Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday.

It will be a full and busy week as the team continues to push and work hard in their classes and homework while playing a full schedule. I ask that you pray for us as we balance our responsibilities! Pray that we continue to glorify Him in everything we do, but also stayed focused on spending rest in the Lord this week! Thank you for your dedication to this team. We love you guys!

In Him,

Tay and the team!
 

September 19, 2017

Hey guys! I’m back with some more insider info about the team!

This past week, we began our G-MAC play. It’s been a decent start so far with a win against Ohio Dominican (new to the G-MAC this year) on Tuesday night, a big win over Hillsdale (new to the G-MAC this year), and a five-set loss to Findlay (also new to the G-MAC this year). This 2-1 start to the G-MAC run has given the team some confidence looking into the future of the season. We have seen what we can do on the court against teams like Hillsdale and Findlay and we have high hopes for the rest of the year.

We are beginning to click on hitting connections and are starting to get into a bit of a groove playing together. We have found a few major areas that we struggle. As a team, and as a coaching staff, we are going to hit these areas really hard this week as we continue to practice. This upcoming week will be a good change of pace, we don’t play until Friday and we finally get to play AT HOME!! Ah, I seriously can’t wait for Friday.

This Cedarville community always comes in clutch and we just have such a good time playing and having fun. Not to mention there are free t-shirts to the first 1,000 fans... hint hint...see ya there!!….Also, if you want to make Cedarville volleyball history, we could break the record for attendance. Now that would be pretty cool. Anyway, in more important matters of that night, we play Lake Erie who is new to the G-MAC this year. They have a great team and we are excited for another battle of a match (basically what our whole season has been like so far! I wish our 3-9 standing could show you how hard we have battled in every single one of our losses!)

On Saturday, we play Ursuline - a G-MAC team that we are excited to play at home. It’s time for this team to start showing off with a bang what we can do. The G-MAC play is where that is going to happen!

Can’t wait to tell you about it next week! Thanks for reading!!!

In Him,

Taylor Wilkerson


September 11, 2017

Another week has gone by and I’m back to share with you what the team has been up to!

We came off the weekend at the University of Southern Indiana with four hard fought losses. It is honestly tough to say that to you again. It’s tough to be 1-7 on the season and it’s tough to write about. But even after a very rough and unexpected start to our season, I have a sense of belief in this team

This did not come about without some hard conversations and some lesson learning on my behalf, but it has come and I am so excited for the start of conference play this week. God doesn’t always hand you things in life and this year He decided not to hand us a flourishing start, but He does promise that if we stay dedicated to His plan, He will give you success. As a competitive volleyball player, I want to take that promise and think He’s going to give us a national championship for all the work this team is putting in (which He could!!!), but I have realized that yes, we are going to get some athletic success this year, but if we are staying committed to His plan, that means we are dedicated to praying for the other teams and players we meet and that maybe He will grow His kingdom through that. This is the real focus even when the outcome of a hard fought five-set match ends in a loss. Our team does a fantastic job of keeping this in perspective and I’m so thankful for what God is teaching me and my team.

This week we start conference play!!! WOOHOO! We play at Ohio Dominican on Tuesday (9/12), at Hillsdale on Friday (9/15), and at Findlay and against Flagler (Non-Conference) on Saturday (9/16). Pray that we continue to show Jesus Christ to other teams through our play, our conversations, and our notes.

In Him,

Tay


September 5, 2017

We’re back! The season is underway!

This past weekend, the team competed at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. We traveled up Thursday afternoon, arrived at the hotel, and headed to a short practice to get ourselves acclimated to the gym. The team was excited for our first weekend away but even more excited to play.

Friday, we took on our first opponent, Davenport University. Unfortunately, we did not get the outcome we had so hoped and worked for. We came in timid and that really hurt us - even over the course of the whole weekend. Later that day, we played Ferris State and really turned it into gear and got ourselves playing more like Cedarville Volleyball plays. We didn’t win the match, but competed much better than in our first match. This put us at 0-2 for the start of season. Not our favorite thing, but we were hungry for more. Saturday, we took on Quincy University and Grand Valley State University. The Quincy match was well fought and we came out with our first win of the season in five sets. We were continuing to improve our play and our confidence as the weekend progressed. The last match was another loss for us, even though we showed small glimpses of improvement. Grand Valley is strong and experienced and overtook us with that.

Overall, the weekend was not what we expected, but greatly needed. I think we needed to expose ourselves and see the weaknesses that this young team has and see what we can specifically work on this week. It was a joy to watch my team learn and grow in the few matches that we played and I am excited to put in some hard work this week at practice to prepare for another four-match weekend ahead of us! Thank you for following and praying for this amazing group of girls! We will see you next week! Talk to you soon.

For Him,

Taylor Wilkerson


August 29, 2017

Hello Cedarville Volleyball Fans! Thank you so much for wanting to catch up with the team again this year! My name is Taylor and I am so excited to be the blogger again this season. I am pumped about what God has for us this year and cannot wait to share those adventures with you each week!

It truly has been a whirlwind of a preseason. We started about three weeks ago and have gone non-stop since then! (except for a fun high ropes course outing at the AIA facility…that was an adventure!!) The team is growing together and learning from each other every day. We have six fabulous freshmen joining us this year and they are an absolute joy to be around. I hope that you can make it to one of our games so that you can meet them! :) Our first matches of the season are this Friday (9/1) at Ferris State University. This is going to be a big weekend for us. The team is excited to play at a high level so early in the season. I can’t wait to catch you up next week with the results.

More importantly, this team is so focused and determined on spreading the word of God and how awesome it is! We are so ready to be used as lights in the world of volleyball and make connections with other teams. I ask that you may pray for us as we start this season, that we may be humble in our efforts and truly seek to love our opponents and view them as image bearers of Christ.

We remember our team verse as we embark on the season…

I Corinthians 9:24-25

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

Thank you for reading! See you next week!

Tay

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Taylor Wilkerson is a junior outside hitter from Brookfield, Wis. She is in her third season with the Lady Jackets and is a Dean's List student majoring in early childhood education.