Other sports’ games may have gotten cancelled due to inclement weather, but the RBHS girls volleyball team was still raring to go in their home game tonight, Sept. 17, against the Hermann Bearcats. The freshmen team took the floor at 5 p.m. with JV and varsity to follow.
The girls JV team started the night on the right note. The Bruins won their first set with a score of 25-22 and their second set was an even closer call with a final score of 25-23.
Now with a JV win behind the team, the varsity Bruins took the court for what looked like another potentially close game. Hermann has been a tough opponent for RBHS in the past, but the girls were on their A-game tonight. Head coach Robin Sherman said that Hermann is one team that her girls must be prepared to play against.
“Hermann is always a team that you have to be watchful of; they are scrappy and they are volleyball players. I mean those girls play all the time and their coach … is a very, very experienced coach. She’s been around for a long time, she knows what she’s doing,” Sherman said. “So you’ve always got to be watching out for Hermann, you can’t give up for a second.”
The girls went into the first set and kept it close with a score of 9-9 within the beginning minutes of play. However, the girls picked up the pace and stole the lead by a favorable margin, 18-14. Junior Lydia Murphy took charge and served back-to-back flawlessly. The Bruins never gave up and Hermann didn’t score again, leaving the first set with a final score of 25-14.
“They were quick and very scrappy,” varsity player Jessica Lambert said, “but I was confident that we would beat them because we are a stronger team.”
The close score at the beginning of the first set showed the Bearcats scrappiness, yet they slowed down going into the second set. RBHS raced ahead taking an early lead, 14-8. They kept up their speed and with accurate sets by senior Ali Kreklow and efficient, hard spikes delivered by junior Sophie Cunningham and seniors Audrey Holt and Chayla Cheadle, the Bruins finished out the game quickly with a final score of 25-15. Sherman said she was impressed by the girls quickness on the floor and their attentiveness to the actions of their opponents.
“That’s one of the things we worked on was setting small goals the whole match so you know, we tend to go on a run and then bomb out for too many points. We want to shorten those times and kind of level out and not give up so many points,” Sherman said. “Overall, I think we did a better job at hitting in the court than we’ve done in the past and shortening those times when we’ve been giving away points.”
The girls remain undefeated nine games into the season and have a tournament win under their belts as well. The team plans on continuing their season strong, according to Lambert.
“I think it gives the team pride and confidence for every game that has been played and that will be played,” Lambert said. “‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is success’ is a quote by Henry Ford. We have done just as Henry Ford said.”
By Brittany Cornelison