MUSKEGON TWP. - From a broad perspective, the Reeths-Puffer volleyball team is having a nice season under first-year head coach Syann Fairfield.
The Rockets are 16-12-3, and with a really young roster and only one senior, that isn’t bad at all.
There is still another box that the Rockets would like to check, however – finding a way to beat the power teams in their O-K Green conference.
That’s something the team has not done in three seasons, and the frustration continued on Thursday when the Rockets lost to Caledonia at home in straight sets by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 25-19.
Kate Tindall (7) sets a shot for Makayla Jewett. Photo/Jaiden Lee
There has been progress this season. R-P has won a few sets against several of the giants in recent matches, including one against Caledonia, but they took a slight step backward in that respect on Thursday.
Of course Fairfield is new to the situation, but at this point in the season she has seen her team play all four of the conference powers – Caledonia, Jenison, Byron Center and Mona Shores – and has had a chance to assess the different between them and her Rockets.
“Something most of these powerhouse teams have that we are still working on is power and aggression,” Fairfield said. “These teams are very well-oiled machines powered by great, high quality coaches. They are really good at the little, fundamental things.
“We are still working on our consistency with those things. Where we are the same is how we want to win. We have drive, determination, grit, and care. We won't back down, and we will continue to improve. 
Photo/Jaiden Lee
“I think in the sport of volleyball, it is really hard to play high-level for a long period of time. It is 85 percent mental and 15 percent physical and can get exhausting for a team working to prove something.
“Our confidence and grit is high. It will just take a little bit more time for the consistency piece to fall, and we will continue to showcase our skills, strengths and improvement. I'm proud of the girls. They have improved so much at such a fast rate.”
The Rockets showed some fight in the match, going on late runs to make the sets closer before the Fighting Scots closed them out.
“We are fighting, but we take too long to choose when we want to fight,” Fairfield said. “We can’t decide to fight when we are down 10 points. We got to fight from point one and then fight all the way until the end.”
The first set started tight with an early 4-4 tie, but Caledonia had a pair of four point runs to take 8-4 and 12-5 leads. The Fighting Scots extended their lead to a set-high 12 points with a 22-10 advantage.
Photo/Jaiden Lee
The Rockets kept fighting, however, going on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 24-17 with a service run by Elsie Howard along with a couple of points scored up front by Makayla Jewett. Caledonia managed to get the final point, however to seal the win.
In the second set, Caledonia had four different five-point leads at 7-2, 8-3, 9-4 and 14-9 before R-P made its comeback effort.
Reeths-Puffer went on a 6-2 tear with a service run by Howard, which included an ace, along with a couple points from Lexie Danz, to cut its deficit to 16-15. Caledonia closed the set with a 9-4 run.
The third set was tied 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7 before the Fighting Scots went on a 6-0 run too take a 13-7 lead.
Caledonia had its largest lead of 11 points three different times at 19-8, 22-11 and 23-12.
R-P head coach Syann Fairfield watches the action. Photo/Jaiden Lee
The Rockets showed some fight again, going on a 7-1 tear with a long service run by Danz, but Caledonia closed out the match with a kill from Aubrey Reynolds.
“I feel like we didn’t play together tonight well, and we still need to work on our communication,” Danz said. “We need to continue to work harder in practice and show it during the games. We need to find a way to stay up with our energy and effort and not go down.”
Howard served six aces to lead the Rockets while Danz chipped in with four kills and two aces. Peyton Radel also had four kills and Kate Tindall dished out 15 assists.
Reeths-Puffer was paced defensively by Leah Zuniga with 12 digs while Tindall had five. Radel had four blocks.
