The Reeths-Puffer volleyball team got some valuable court time against some tough opponents on Saturday at the Holland West Ottawa Invitational.
The young Rockets, struggling to find their footing so far this season, lost four short matches in straight sets.
R-P fell to Jenison 25-17, 25-22; Gull Lake 25-13, 25-15; Kalamazoo Central 25-13, 26-16; and Sparta 25-23, 25-19.
Alissa Klopp and Mady Snyder led the R-P offense with 17 and 15 kills, respectively.
Megan Barmes served three aces and Maddi Dyer added two.
Defensively, Dyer had 19 digs and Snyder added 15. Klopp had three blocks.
R-P's Maddi Dyer
R-P Coach Justin Birr noted that Jenison and Gull Lake, the Rockets’ pool play opponents in the morning, went on to win the Gold and Silver pools in the tournament.
“I think our two matches against Jenison and Gull Lake were our two best matches of the season,” Birr said. “Despite the losses, we played hard, we played smart, and we kept a consistent positive energy on the court and on the bench. I am very proud of our team chemistry and how we fought.
“In the bronze pool in the afternoon, we faced Kalamazoo Central and Sparta. I thought we had a chance to beat both of these teams, so I am a little disappointed with our performance. We lost a lot of that positive energy from the morning, and we made a ton of errors on our side. I told our girls that the other team was trying to hit spots and score, and we were just trying to hit.
“We are still working on developing a higher volleyball IQ for our girls, and it showed in the afternoon. Although we did not add to the win column, we learned a lot about ourselves on Saturday.”
