Reeths-Puffer lost an O-K Green Conference match to Division 1 honorable mention Jenison Tuesday, 25-10, 25-15, 25-19, but Rockets' coach Justin Birr was heartened by the level of play from his team.
"I'm very proud of how our girls fought hard throughout all three
sets," Birr said. "I'm also impressed that we continued to close the gap throughout
the night. Our girls can compete with these top-tier teams in the
conference, and it showed throughout the night."
Jenison stifled the Rocket offense, but R-P (15-15, 1-5 O-K Green) was able to hang around with solid work on the defensive side, led by eight digs from Carlee Bowen. The team also served six aces on the night, three of them from Lexie Danz. Danz also had a team-high five kills. Kate Tindall had 10 assists.
"It's
important as a team to not get too focused on wins and losses at this
point in the season," Birr said. "I feel like our girls are bought into that. It's not that they
don't care when we lose; they care a whole lot, which is great. It's
that they also see the bigger picture and want to improve, and it's fun
to coach a group with that drive."
