ROCHESTER — Rochester stole the momentum in set two but couldn’t keep it rolling in a four-set defeat (19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16) to Montesano in non-league action Monday at home.
The loss drops Rochester to 0-2 overall after a three-set loss to Elma in its season opener last Tuesday.
“We’re disappointed,” Rochester coach Bridget Morris said. “I felt like we could have been better. We gave up too many free balls and didn’t put away the ball and the game when we had them. We just need to be better about putting it away sooner and not letting them back in.”
After dropping a close first set to the Bulldogs, the Warriors made a valiant comeback in the second set to regain momentum and put Monte on its heels. But after the Bulldogs called timeout during a 1-1 tie in set three, it seemed the Warriors lost all the momentum they had gained.
“This one I think we were a little bit too complacent and weren’t as aggressive as we should have been,” Morris said.
She did say the Warriors made big-time improvements on their serve-receive compared to the Elma game, she just hopes they can shorten the length between the highs and the lows they play with.
She also commended the outside hitters, Lauren Rotter and Hannah Rhodeheaver, for holding their own against a tough Monte team that had defeated W.F. West in its season opener.
“Hannah had a lot of great kills, her hitting percentage was really high and her serving was really good,” Morris said. “Everybody was just kind of working hard. We’ve got to get better about the block but Hannah and Lauren hit well.”
Rhodeheaver tallied eight kills and one block kills, while Rotter added four kills and two assists.
Junior middle hitter Hailey Angwood led the Warriors with 10 kills while adding four block kills. Roisin Stull contributed six block kills.
Junior Kassidy Byrd dished out a team-high 14 assists and junior setter Kylie Wild added 11 assists.
Rotter, one of just three seniors on the team, said the Warriors did a better job against Montesano than Elma in keeping their energy up and fighting for every point. The team’s communication and aggressiveness also improved, she said.
“There were a lot of times where girls were diving on top of each other,” Rotter said. “It’s a little risky but I think that shows really good energy. Those are high points, especially on the net, too, when we’re up there jousting at the net.
Rochester (0-2) will look to get one in the win column when it hosts Hoquiam (1-1) in another non-league match on Thursday.
Rainier won its second-straight match with a sweep (25-10, 25-10, 15-15) of Class 1A Eatonville at home on Monday.
"Have to give a shout out to the young girls," Rainier coach Shauna Carpenter said. "They were given an opportunity to show what they have and they proved themselves. Looked like they had been out there all along."
The Mountaineers improve to 2-1 overall and host Morton-White Pass (0-1) on Tuesday.
Tumwater couldn’t generate enough to hold off Steilacoom is a straight-set defeat (25-19, 25-18, 26-24) at home against Steilacoom in non-league play on Monday.
Tumwater takes its first loss of the season, falls to 2-1 overall and hosts league rival W.F West on Tuesday.
Tenino took its second-straight loss to start the season with a sweeping loss (25-7, 25-11, 25-10) to Columbia Adventist at home on Monday in non-league play.
The Beavers (0-2) host Class 2A Aberdeen on Tuesday in another non-league match.
