COOPERSVILLE - The Reeths-Puffer volleyball team made a lot of strides this year under a first-year head coach, with a very young roster.
But for the Rockets to reach the point where they can compete with great teams like Grand Haven at tournament time, they need more experience against teams like that, according to head coach Syann Fairfield.
The coach had just watched her Rockets lose a Division 1 district semifinal match on Wednesday to the powerful Buccaneers by scores of 13-25, 15-25,16-25, and reflected on her first year with the team.
“It was a roller-coaster season, and we didn’t play enough non-conference games against high-caliber teams like Grand Haven,” said Fairfield, whose team finished with a 20-17-3 record and had a lot of wins against teams from smaller schools. “But it was good to see that these girls can win, and that they can play against above average teams and pull out important wins.
R-P's Mackenzie Danz (10) gets ready to blast a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“I do look back and wish that we pushed ourselves more this season, although we play in one of the best conferences in the state. But it was just eye-opening tonight to see everything that we needed to prepare better for.”
The Rockets had a team this year that featured only one senior, along with six juniors, seven sophomores and a freshman.
They topped last year's victory total by one, and posted one district win, on Monday over Muskegon.
What happens going forward will depend on the players, according to Fairfield.
R-P's Leah Zuniga keeps the ball in play. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“It’s going to come down to our work in the offseason,” the coach said. “We need to buy in and see how many of them grow, but it’s going to take believing in ourselves and not saying that we don’t have a good volleyball team.”
The Rockets struggled at the start of each set on Wednesday, especially during the first and second sets, falling behind 9-2 each time and never finding a way to completely recover.
Reeths-Puffer never had a lead in the match, but did manage to tie the score a few times in the third set.
“It’s easier to come back from that against average or below average teams,” Fairfield said. “When you are playing against a great team like Grand Haven, which has its stuff together, you can’t fall behind early."
R-P's Makayla Jewett takes a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets allowed the first eight points of the opening set and never found a way back. They cut the deficit to 9-4 at one point, but Grand Haven cruised to a 12-point first set win.
Reeths-Puffer also gave up the first six points in the second set, managed to cut its deficit to five points at 7-2, before dropping the middle set by10 points.
The third set was tied 2-2 before the Buccaneers pulled away and won by nine.
Lexie Danz led the Rockets with six kills and two aces while Makayla Jewett added four kills. Kate Tindall dished out 19 assists.
Jewett tries to get the ball past an opponent. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Leah Zuniga paced Reeths-Puffer defensively with 18 digs while Tindall had five digs and a block.
Sophomore middle hitter Makayla Jewett said she thinks the Rockets made definite progress that will set them up well for next year, when almost the entire roster will return.
“I think we have grown a lot, and we learned a lot of new things this season,” Jewett said. “We are working a lot better as a team now, where in the beginning it was more about individual goals.
“I think in the future we need to focus on starting out stronger, and we need to continue to find ways to improve by putting everything we have learned together.”
