The Lady Cougar Volleyball team had a home match versus the Covenant Christian Rams on Friday afternoon. While the Cougars did not walk away with the W from this meeting, they played this team better than ever before. Coaches were very proud of the entire team and their efforts on the court.
Game one, Cougar serving was not as strong as it was earlier in the week. The Rams had some lengthy service runs and a few jumps serves coming from their side of the court. This challenged our Lady Cougars. Sophomore Natalia Hoeve stepped into her element in this match. She covered the court effectively and passed extremely well, anticipating plays from the Rams. Sophomores Anna Scalf and Tracy Li also showed off their passing skills. Cougars lost this game, 5-25.
Game two, Cougars again struggled with their serves while the Rams served consistently. They were incredibly effective at running their offense and hitting the third ball each play. Keeping this in mind, the young Lady Cougars anticipated the play and returned the ball routinely, making it a great rally to watch and this increased as the games progressed. Game two ended with a final score of 5-25.
Tracy Li began the game with a couple strong serves in addition to key passing in the backcourt. Senior Esther Buckingham was also very adept at court coverage and passing to the deep Ram court, giving Cougars time to get back in position. Junior Bella Scaff had two short but well-placed serves that helped to up the score. Natalia Hoeve was a passing phenomenon the entire match, but especially in game three. She grabbed short shots, corners digs from their hitters and handled some very tough serves, along with Tracy Li in the backcourt. This game was especially fun to watch as they Cougars kept bringing the ball back into play, volleying back and forth, not giving up until the ball was dead. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and they couldn’t catch up, the match ended with game three score of 10-25.
The Lady Cougars will travel to Atlanta Jewish Academy to play on Tuesday afternoon, August 27 at 5pm. Go Cougars!
