by Cassie Florido, photos by Katie Hornbeck
The varsity volleyball team kicked off their season in the fourth annual Metro Sports Slam on Aug. 31 at St. James Academy against Blue Valley. The Stars lost the match in two sets. This was the Stars’ second loss in a row in the Metro Sports Slam after losing to Lee’s Summit West last year.
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The first set of the match was close, but in the end the Stars lost 25-20.
In the second set the Stars jumped out to a quick lead. However, Blue Valley kept fighting their way back. The Stars had set point four times but were unable to win the set. The Tigers won the set 28-26.
After the loss, when asked how she felt about the team’s performance, head coach Abbie Lane only had one word, disappointed.
Senior right side hitter Abbey Haines adds that she felt the team struggled.
“I think there were moments we performed well, but more moments when we didn’t,” Haines said. “We never found a good rhythm or momentum we could maintain.”
Haines said she felt the team responded well after losing the first set.
“We established an early lead in the second set, but we couldn’t hold it,” Haines said. “Once we started struggling, our mentality went downhill, and I don’t think we felt collected as a team.”
Coach Lane said moving forward in the season the team needs to work on their serving.
The Stars missed seven serves in the match, many of those serves coming in the last set as the Stars tried to force the match to three sets.
“We need to make our serves more consistent in pressured situations,” Haines said.
Senior middle hitter Miranda Schultz adds that blocking also struggled during the match.
“When the block isn’t good, the defense is helpless and therefore our defense struggled as well,” Schultz said.
Despite losing the season opener, Schultz said the team still has an expectation of reaching their full potential.
“Of course the ultimate goal is State, and given that we have a harder schedule than normal, we plan on [achieving] this goal because of the practice and hard work we’ve done to get there,” Schultz said.
