Hitting, setting errors lead to Randolph loss
RANDOLPH – The Randolph Lady Cardinals volleyball team fell to 2-13 with a loss in its only match last week.
Randolph fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-20) against Creighton at Randolph’s Parents Night on Sept. 26.
Jacey Bartels (10 kills, 15 digs), Rylee Thelen (four kills), Ella Scott (25 digs) and Alexis Backhaus (12 assists) led the Lady Cardinals in the defeat.
“We had a great night in our serve-receive, but again couldn’t finish up front,” Randolph head coach Lyndsee English said. “We will be spending every practice building on what we did well.
“We served well, but not as aggressively as I would like. We had way too many hitting errors with some setting errors. It also seemed like our defense was off compared to how I know they can play.
“This late in the season, with us not able to put together more wins, there will be some minor adjustments in the lineup, a small change in defense, and we will focus on getting the ball to our middle hitters. I need to make a few necessary adjustments because if we can’t get girls to produce in their position by this point in the season, it’s time to see if someone else can step up.”
English said the Lady Cardinals have the talent to compete, but now it’s about believing in themselves that they can get the job done.
“This is where they need to be strong together as a team,” English said. “They’ve had a good week at practice and are taking well to the changes that we made. I am hoping to see some better results this week.”
Randolph’s Joci Greiner said she felt the team played well in the Creighton defeat.
“We just need to win that last point,” Greiner said about getting those key momentum points to fall the Lady Cardinals’ way. “They just got us on tips and things like that. We weren’t just in our defense or it was just good placement by them, and they were very scrappy.
“When we get the ball back, I think we need to push a little more than we have been. I just feel like once our momentum gets going, sometimes we kill that momentum and then everyone gets down. I think if you mess up, then a teammate gets down, and then some other people get down and it carries throughout the team or affects the whole team.”
The key? Every player needs to feel positive on the court, she said.
“Even if they are mad at themselves or a teammate, we need to keep the positivity up on the court and the bench,” Greiner said.
Randolph played at Hartington-Newcastle Tuesday and will play at Bloomfield Thursday, Oct. 5, and at a Stanton quadrangular Saturday, Oct. 7.
“This is our first year in this quad and I’m excited to play a couple teams that we haven’t played before,” English said.