The Reeths-Puffer volleyball team, with a lot of new faces, has been pretty impressive so far this season.
The Rockets continued that trend on Thursday against a very tough opponent, at least for one set.’
R-P's Mairyn Peterson goes high for a kill. Photo/Jeremy Clark
They battled state-ranked Jenison hard and only lost 25-23 in the first set, but then fell off and dropped the second and third by wide margins (8-25, 9-15) in their O-K Green conference opener at R-P's Dan Beckeman Arena.
“The first set was awesome to see from our girls,” said R-P Coach Justin Birr. “We got into a little bit of a hole, but clawed our way back to 23-24 before losing the final point. It's hard to look at the set scores and not wonder what changed from the first to the second and third sets.
“Part of it was on Jenison cleaning up their game, but most of it was our change in mentality. I think we played our brand of aggressive and fearless volleyball in the first set, and it paid off. Then in the second set, we played to avoid errors and played not to lose. Against a team like Jenison, you cannot let your guard down.
Carlee Bowen dives to keep the ball in play. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“We are a mentally resilient team, and we showed it when their big hitters got some big kills. We re-focused and persevered. However, we have to remain aggressive and play the type of volleyball we are capable of.”
Mairyn Peterson led the R-P offense with six kills. Kate Tindall had 12 assists and served an ace.
Kate Tindall sets up Peterson for an attack. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Defensively, Carlee Bowen had 11 digs and Tindall added six.
The Rockets are now 8-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play. They will compete in the West Ottawa Invitational on Saturday.
R-P's Peyton Radel returns a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Peterson tries to get a shot past blockers. Photo/Jeremy Clark