Cape volleyball falls to the Raiders 3-0
The Lady Vikings volleyball team moved to 4-3 on the season with a 8-25, 23-25 and 9-25 loss to a powerful 7-2 Ursuline Academy squad Sept. 30 at the Cape gym.
The Vikings came out slow and fell behind quickly, only scoring eight points in the first set, but like a Charles Dickens novel, it was a tale of two sets as the Vikings were on fire and clawed their way to a 23-23 tie before the Raiders scored two and won the second. The third set found the Vikings playing like the first, making too many mistakes and failing to get into double figures.
Senior libero Emily Cook bumped eight digs while Brielle Ross had seven. Junior Ava Calciano turned in a consistent performance knocking down four kills, serving four aces and making four digs.
“The determination level shot up in that second set,” said Calciano. “We worked really well together, and I think it’s something we can grow on.”
Sophomore Mallory Terhune came in and provided a spark, making three digs and picking up a kill.
“Being able to come off the bench and give my teammates a lift is really important for me,” said Terhune.
“Today was a needed shock for us,” said Cape head coach Tyler Coupe. “It’s a good reminder that we are not where we need to be physically, skillfully or mentally yet. We appeared fully overwhelmed in the first set, and more in our own heads. In the timeout called, I told the coaches we weren’t going to say anything, and to let them talk amongst themselves for 60 seconds to see if they were able to find the words to push each other and fix their mistakes. They did a brilliant job at that and in the second set we serve received much more consistently, had more consistent setting and varied how we attacked the ball to success.
“Unfortunately, we reverted back to the set 1 ways of being overwhelmed and making repetitive mistakes in the third. Ursuline is a top 3 program in the state right now, and they fully showed it. They have physical players at every position and have a high volleyball IQ.
“The things within our control, our effort, our attitude and our grit – which up to this point have been a staple for us, fell relatively flat today. Those are things that will be a focal point for us next week as we prep for another gnarly week of matches vs. CR and Conrad.”
The Vikings JV squad moved to 4-3 with a 0-2 loss to the JV Raiders.
Cape hosts Caesar Rodney Tuesday, Oct. 3.
