After a weekend in which head coach, Diane White, saw some growth from her young team, the Oak Hill Golden Eagles followed it up with one of their poorest efforts of the season in a three set loss to the Wabash Apaches on Tuesday evening.
“Honestly, the girls came in unprepared for the game,” White said. “They went through the motions in practice the day before, and I didn’t feel like they were 100 percent there, especially during the first two sets. They just didn’t show up last night – they just weren’t there.”
The beginning of the school year is always a tough transition, as teenagers have to readjust to school, homework, and athletic commitments, as well as trying to find time for social activities. After Tuesday’s game, White believed that the girls are still feeling a little bit overwhelmed.
Even so, when it’s time for volleyball, White wants her team to focus solely on volleyball and not on outside distractions.
“They all have a lot of things on their plate right now, and I think the start of school and getting used to new routines might have caught up with them,” White said. “However, they need to be 100 percent focused when it is volleyball time.”
Two days after arguably their worst effort of the season, the Golden Eagles redeemed themselves in a four set victory over the Lewis Cass Kings.
“It was much a better effort overall,” White said after the win. “Their focus was much better tonight.”
After their loss against Wabash, White took the time to talk to the team, relate to them, and try to understand what was going on in their lives. White was a teenager once too, and she understands the pressure they feel being student athletes who are trying to balance school, homework, college applications, and social lives, to name a few.
The heart-to-heart seemed to resonate with the Golden Eagles on Thursday evening.
“The fact that we were able to recognize that and talk about it openly, I think it took a little bit of pressure off of them,” White said.
Khloe Price and Taylor Westgate each finished with nine kills, while Brittany McCorkle had 17 digs. Ella Ridgeway ended the match with six ace serves in the victory.
Heading into the match against Grant County rival Missisissniewa on Monday, White knew her team was going to have to play mistake-free volleyball throughout.
“The thing I want to talk about heading into the Mississiewa game is keeping their game clean,” White said. “[I want them to focus on] clean passes, cleans sets, and being smart with our [offensive attack.]
“We are just going to have to be really aggressive and just be really clean in our play.”
Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts in the final two sets, the Golden Eagles were unable to win any games in the match, falling to the Indians in three sets.
Westgate recorded nine kills for the second straight match, while McCorkle led the team in digs with 20 in the loss.
