NORTON SHORES – The Reeths-Puffer volleyball team isn’t the tallest this season, so when it faces top competition mixed with height, the results may not be great early on.
The Rockets hope to change that as the season progresses, because they know they will see other teams with good size, including Mona Shores at least one more time..
The R-P squad never found its footing on Thursday and fell 3-0 at Mona Shores in their first O-K Green conference match of the season.
The set scores were 25-4, 25-12 and 25-16.
R-P's Mairyn Peterson tries to get a shot past the Sailors. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets improved as the match went on but could not overcome a very rough start.
Reeths-Puffer fell to 2-7-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
“Our girls are shorter,” said Reeths-Puffer head coach Justin Birr. “One thing that we can’t magically fix is our height. But we have to improve in other areas to be able to beat teams like that.”
In the first set, the Rockets were rudely greeted with a 14-0 Mona Shores run to start the action.
They were never able to recover, with Mona Shores closing out the set with an 11-4 advantage.
R-P's Mady Snyder goes up to return a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
In the second set, Mona Shores once again started with a 14-0 lead before the Rockets put their first point on the board.
Reeths-Puffer responded with a 9-5 run to cut the deficit to 19-9 before ultimately dropping the set.
The Rockets got a better jump in the third set, falling behind just 4-0 before scoring their first point.
Reeths-Puffer trailed 15-9 in the third before Mona Shores closed out the match and completed the sweep with a 10-7 run.
“It’s a rivalry for us,” Birr said about his team’s improvement as the night went on. “We have only one senior on the floor and a bunch of juniors. It felt like we were playing junior varsity a little bit. Playing a little scared and tentative. That was the unfortunate part, but we put together a decent third set.”
R-P's Alissa Klopp tries to land a kill. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Birr said it became obvious that his team’s ability to compete for a title in the conference, the city tournament or districts will probably require the ability to beat the strong Mona Shores squad down the road.
“Conference, districts and city all run through Mona Shores,” he said. “We need to find a way to beat the team on the other side of the net. There is no hanging your heads, no feeling bad about yourself. We just have to find a way to beat that team.”
Mady Snyder led the R-P offense with four kills and two aces.
Megan Barmes paced the defensive effort with 13 digs while Snyder and Grace Darke each added six.
