As a part of Chatham University’s 2024 Homecoming Week, a tailgate was hosted before the women’s volleyball game against Franciscan University of Steubenville on Sept. 28.
The event brought students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents together on the patio of the Athletic & Fitness Center (AFC) for food, drinks, games and performances from the cheer and dance teams ahead of the Cougars’ showdown against the Barons.
“It’s very lovely to see the alums come back and to engage with students and families and staff and faculty. It’s terrific. It’s what we should be doing – it’s exactly what we need to do,” President Rhonda Phillips said. “I think it’s fantastic. It’s a way to engage with each other and build a sense of connection to Chatham, to their alma mater.”
The two-hour event had graduates reconnect with their friends, as well as current students, faculty and staff.
“It’s really nostalgic, actually,” Elizabeth Kowalski ‘22 said. “When we were pulling in, we were just sitting in the car and talking about, like, ‘oh, my God, do you remember this?’ And then I honestly wasn’t expecting so many people to be here. There’s a lot more people than I was expecting, and a lot more familiar faces, so that’s really fun. It’s fun to talk to everybody.”
The tailgate continues the University’s efforts to bolster the athletic department’s reach at Chatham.
“I think we’ve seen over the past decade or so since we went [all-gender], that athletics is in the forefront,” men’s and women’s volleyball head coach Jason Bortak said. “I think we’re doing a nice job of showcasing our student athletes in the classroom, in the community, but also on the fields and the courts. So getting the community support and the faculty and staff support, it’s huge for us. We want to continue to put on good events and good showings for the community and the support. So it definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. But I think it’s also a sign that Chatham athletics are moving in the right direction.”
The Cougars dropped the contest 3-1 to Franciscan and have started the season with a 3-8 record. Despite the team’s slow start, the Cougars have not started playing conference games yet. Bortak and his team are working on taking things one day at a time, and trusting they will get to where they need to get to.
“We harp and harp and harp and harp on a process-driven team. Right. So where we are, Aug. 15 on move in day should not be where we are on Nov. 12, come conference championship time,” Botak said “So we know it will take some time to put the pieces together. And we’ve seen such positive results. We just need them more consistently, by taking it one day at a time, one point at a time, one match at a time, not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
The women’s volleyball team was picked first in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) preseason poll but has struggled to find its footing following itsPAC Championship loss last year. The team graduated nine seniors last season, including two members of the All-PAC Second Team, and it’s working to fill the voids left.
“We’ve got some new folks that we’re trying to get up to speed and be immediate contributors for us,” Bortak said. “We’re going through some growing pains, of course, trying to get them to the speed of the game, the locations, the tempos, all the things that we really want to make sure we get down. We also need to be able to execute and make some changes a little bit faster.”
The Cougars look to start their conference games on the right foot on Oct. 5 when they head to Grove City.
