The Warrenton girls volleyball team played a statistically near-perfect game on Sept. 4 against St. Charles West.
With a team-high of a 2.14 serve receive percentage, 48 kills and 44 …
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The Warrenton girls volleyball team played a statistically near-perfect game on Sept. 4 against St. Charles West.
With a team-high of a 2.14 serve receive percentage, 48 kills and 44 assists, the Warriors were doing everything right.
However, they were missing one important piece.
“It came down to mental toughness and not being able to finish,” Warrenton coach Kayla Nelson said. “I take the blame and I have to teach the girls how to handle situations like that.”
The Warriors were on their way to a straight-set sweep after taking the first two sets (25-19 and 25-18). However, St. Charles West rallied to salvage the game by winning the last three sets (25-16, 25-19 and 15-8).
“It’s really hard when you play a game skill wise so well because you’re doing everything right in terms of how it should be done, but then you have to throw in our ACE – the attitude, the communication and the effort,” Nelson said.
While Nelson observed the momentum and floor energy shift as the game went on, two players stuck out to her for fully embracing their team values.
“Lila Bartley always does a great job all the time contributing to ACE, especially with her attitude and Emma Klaus, she had 16 kills and she brought out a good attitude and a good effort,” Nelson said. “The two of them really played a huge role in ACE.”
With a stinging loss, the Warriors have plenty of time to recoup with a week break before their next game, and that time has already been put to use with a key focus on endurance.
Warrenton will take the court at 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Holt High School.
“We had a tough practice (recently) and they would probably say it’s the toughest one we’ve had so far. I told them this is not punishment, this is a challenge. We need to be able to finish games and it comes from being exhausted at the end of these five sets,” Nelson said.
Nelson is confident in her team’s ability.
“This group wants what’s best for each other and for themselves and not in a bad way. We want to win and we know we can. We just need to put the pieces together,” she said.
While it's still early in the season, Nelson is hoping her team can take away key lessons from the game.
“The game's not over after two sets. We played five, so I want them to stay in it and lock in. Now, the big thing is focus. After every ball, we’ve got to refocus because we have to move on,” Nelson said.
