A great play during practice ended with nine stitches in a volleyball player’s head earlier this month and a turnaround for the loss-stricken team.

The volleyball team was dealing with a 12-game losing streak before playing against Idaho State. Coach Ruben Volta explained that the injury marked the turning point for the team. Two days before the game, Desiree Hoyum dove for the ball during practice.

“She split her eye open and played two nights later with nine stitches in her head,” Volta said. “She had one of her best games and we broke the losing streak.”

Superstitions aside, the Hornets have turned their season around. They have taken the worst season in the team’s history and have improved their record to 5-3 in conference, making the NCAA seem like a reasonable goal.

Volta said that it was hard to say what the chances of making it to the NCAA Tournament were.

“We have to make it to the Big Sky Tournament first,” he said. “We need to stay consistent; it’s a matter of maintaining this high level of play.”

Volta said that his team has made progress.

“I think they just got more confident. They didn’t let the losses get them down,” he said.

Sophomore Maddison Thivierge is confident in her team.

“I’m excited to see what happens,” she said. “We have to win our conference to get there.”

Thivierge, who plays middle hitter for the Hornets, attributed the season improvement to teamwork.

“I think we were getting used to each other, we realized what it took and we decided to do it,” she said.

Freshman Kelsey Elston said that the team needed to keep working hard and stay aggressive in order to make it to the NCAA Tournament. She agreed with Thivierge about what happened to turn the season around.

“We just came together?it carried over to our games,” she said.

Senior Katie Van Der Wende said the team has been working really hard.

“We just started clicking together; we figured each other out,” she said

Van Der Wende was optimistic about making it to the NCAA Tournament.

“I think we have a really good chance,” she said.

The team has been through some tough times this season. The volleyball team has long been the Hornet team with the best record. The team’s 12 game losing streak had been hard for the team to overcome.

“It (has) been trying,” Thivierge said. “When we were going through our little funk, it was hard.”

Van Der Wende is a senior this year and is enjoying the season so far.

“Emotionally, it (has) been awesome,” she said. “Being a senior, it’s like our time is coming to an end.”

The players highlighted their victory over Portland State.

“It was amazing!” Thivierge said.

The most memorable moment was “beating Portland. Hands down,” said Elston.

Last Saturday the team played a game against former Hornet volleyball players. The alumni game was attended by former volleyball coach Debbie Colberg.

“It was really fun,” Van Der Wende said. “It was good to beat them.”

“We won, which was good,” Thivierge said. “It was a good experience.”

“It was just fun,” said Volta. “I hope the players were able to see the camaraderie on the alumni side.”

With so many ups and downs this year, Volta tries not to get too emotional over the season.

“I try to treat every match the same as we go,” he said. “(As coaches) we try to maintain a stable attitude. The players should be able to look at the coaching staff for stability.”

The Hornets have eight conference games left this season. Coach Volta mentioned that maybe Hoyum should cut her other eye for good luck but then added that he was just joking. Good luck charm or not, something has happened to turn the Hornets’ season around.

Their next game, at Idaho State, is Friday at 2 p.m.

Amy Lewis can be reached at [email protected]