The RBHS volleyball team took a crushing loss in a close game against the Hannibal Pirates on the evening of Sept. 29. The Lady Bruins fought hard through a total of three sets, only to succumb to the Pirates’ lead and give up the victory to the away team, rendering the final scores of each set 21-25, 25-23, 18-25, respectively.
Regarding their overall performance, head coach Aaron Kincaid proudly remarks on how well his team played, despite Hannibal’s early onset lead.
“We got down by [5 points] coming into the last set,” Kincaid said. “It’s hard to dig yourself out of a hole. We’ve really been working on that this entire season, in terms of not starting in a hole. And we did just that. Come the third set, we started in a hole and we struggled to recover.”
The Bruins played hard through three long sets, losing the first, winning the second and ultimately losing the third, giving way for yet another loss this season.
Outside hitter and junior Madison Cleeton agrees with her coach, claiming the first two sets created a foundation for victory; however, the lack of points early in the third lead them to spiral into a loss.
“We really played well this game,” Cleeton said. “The first two sets we played pretty well, and the last set we really struggled with. [In the third set] we lost all of our energy and sense of coordination. After giving away the lead, we really just dug ourselves into a hole and gave up on each other.”
The two teams played vigorously the entire match, with the first two sets being concluded within small margins of four and two-point leads. During the last set, middle hitter and senior Savannah Singletary claims the team’s overall lack of communication and teamwork gave Hannibal the victory.
“We got stuck in a lot of rotations and we didn’t see a quick enough way to get out of that, but after we did, we were able to secure the one victory,” Singletary said.
With the painful loss in mind, Kincaid hopes to strengthen his players minds going into their next game against the Jefferson City Jays on Oct. 3.
“One thing we need to work on our mental toughness,” Kincaid said. “I’ve said this all season long, we can’t get mentally down whenever we’re down on points. To stay in that mentally tough area is tough, but it’s really important for these girls to be able to win. I really believe these girls can overcome this and secure some victories.”
Do you think the team will emerge victorious against the Jays on Oct. 3? Leave a comment below!