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!