Pryor vs Lewis

Well we had a pretty tough time against Lewis today. We struggled the first game to get anything going, but by the time the second game came around we played a lot better. We were serving tough and accurately, and we were doing really well digging. Lewis had several girls on their team that were hitting the ball pretty hard, but we were there to dig most of them. Taylor even got her hands on a few of them at the net. We need to work on our transitions from offense to defense (especially during a free ball) and we need to work on getting three hits off our serve receive. We didn't let too many serves get by us, but lots of them were going over the net after the first contact, instead of to the setter.
Some good news though, our Non-starters won!! Congratulations! We were serving well during that match as well. Sam had 7 in a row I think. Good job! The girls were passing pretty well and we had a few offensive attacks (pass-set-hit) that were really nice.
So again, we learned a lot about what we are getting better at and what we still need to work on. I'm still having fun though, and I can't wait for our next game!
Go pirates!

Fundraising

The annual Booster Club BBQ is coming up on Thursday, Sept. 27th from 4:00-6:00 pm. The school has asked that each girl on our team sell 4 tickets. The tickets are $5.00 a piece. Next Friday (Sept. 21) each girl needs to give me the $20.00 for the 4 tickets they are required to sell. If you want to bring me money before then I have the tickets available now. However, Friday the 21st is the last day to turn in your money. If you can sell more than 4 let me know, and if you don't think you can sell 4 let me know that too. We'll try and work it out.
We are also planning on having a scrimmage versus the Pryor teachers. This will be Friday October 5th right after school. Each girl will be asked to sell tickets to this also, but we will get more details once everything has been approved.

Pictures rescheduled

We were able to reschedule team pictures for next Friday (Sept. 21st). I will be handing out the order forms tomorrow or early next week. You need to bring your check with you on the day the pictures are taken if you want to order any. If you are not ordering any, you will just do the team picture for the year book.

Pryor vs Ruckel

We had a great game today!! We ended up losing in 3 games, but we played great! It was fun to see the girls play as a team, and execute the things we've been working on so hard at practices. The first game was 25-20 and the second game was sooo close, 23-25!! We couldn't quite come up with the win in game three. Again, I am so proud of all the girls. We worked really hard yesterday at practice to get our rotations down, and it really showed today. We also tweaked our serve receive a bit, and I saw a huge improvement.
I think the girls were a bit frustrated that we were so close, but still came home with a loss. Even still, I thought it was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. As a coach I am always hoping that come game-time the girls play like I have seen them play at practice. Today they did that! I see such great potential in our team, and today a lot of that potential came out on the court. Robyn had 4 aces out of 10 serves during the first game! She also had some really nice digs that were tough to get to! Taylor absolutely dominated at the net with several kills and even a few blocks! Kasey had some really nice digs and stepped up as our backup setter for a nice assist during game 2. Kristen had some good sets that the rest of the team used to rack up a few kills, and she also had a few tips over the net herself. Kaylan had some nice passes on serve recieve from some tough servers and also several kills. Shelby also had some nice digs on defense and stepped up several times with a good pass when we needed one. From our non-starters, again I was very impressed. All 6 of those girls were diving and moving to the ball. Jordan did great serving, Sydney had lots of great passes and digs, Charlene had a great kill out of the back row, Stephanie was doing great setting, Sam was digging great, and Sabrina had some nice passes. Everyone worked together and it really showed.
OK, now don't get me wrong, we did great, but we still have lots to work on. There's nothing quite like a game to point out our weaknesses. Still I couldn't have asked for a better first game! What's great is that we proved to Ruckel and ourselves that we are competitive and that we can win!!
Congratulations again on a great game. Don't get too caught up in the final score -- You win some you lose some -- but remember what it felt like to play hard and play as a team. It was fun!!
Go Pirates!

Happy Labor Day!

We won't be having practice on Monday because of the holiday, and we won't be having regular practice on Friday either, because of the school dance. I still want to have practice on Friday, so I'm deciding whether I want to have it after the school dance (from 5-7 pm), or outside on the outdoor courts during the dance (2:30-4:30 pm). Are any of you planning on going to the dance? What's your vote? I'll let you know next week what the plan is.
I'm getting excited about our first game, but we are running out of time to get ready.