Reeths-Puffer had a very exciting start in its O-K Green Conference opener against Jenison Thursday, nearly taking the first game from the Wildcats, but ended up falling short in three games, 25-23, 25-8, 25-9.
Coach Justin Birr said his team played "aggressive and fearless" in the first game and would've liked to see it continue throughout the match.
"It's hard to look at the set scores and not wonder what
changed from the first (game)," Birr said. "Part of it was on
Jenison cleaning up their game, but most of it was our change in
mentality...Against a team like
Jenison, you cannot let your guard down. We are a mentally resilient
team, and we showed it when their big hitters got some big kills. We
refocused and persevered. However, we have to remain aggressive and
play the type of volleyball we are capable of."
Despite the score, Birr was pleased with the Rocket defense overall, saying there were some clutch digs that kept the ball in the air at times. Carlee Bowen led the Rockets (8-9, 0-1 O-K Green) with 11 digs. However, offensively the team was unable to keep Jenison off balance and had some communication struggles.
