GLENDALE - The Moon Valley Rockets battled hard against the Sunrise Mountain Mustangs but struggled to maintain a cohesive defense resulting in a final match score of 0-3.

 

The Rockets (0-9 Region, 1-16 overall) were inconsistent in their first set against the Mustangs. Moon Valley struggled to complete digs from Sunrise serves as well as outside hits. These mistakes set Moon Valley back allowing Sunrise to lead 5-0. 

 

Coach Francico Villa said that playing Sunrise once before is an advantage but that does not change their skill as a team.

 

“They’re such a good team so we just try to limit our mistakes,"  Villa said. "Because they’re so good, if we make mistakes then that makes them a lot better.”

 

Moon Valley fell further behind the Mustangs as the first set progressed. Like their digs, the Rockets showed weakness with their back row play, which allowed the Mustangs to score multiple aces.

 

The inconsistencies of digs and the high number of aces finished off the first set at 25-7.

 

Outside hitter Rylee Bruce said that the team has been changing a lot throughout the season causing some difficulties. 

 

“The first set is always rough for us because it takes us a while to warm up," Bruce said. "It’s easy for us to get too head strong and give up and not focus on the basics." 

 

During the second set, the Rockets managed to play cohesively, but still fed the Mustangs free points.

 

Setter Jenna Dodgson said she knew the strengths of the Sunrise team, but felt as if the Rockets focused too much on the Mustangs fundamentals. 

 

“We know that their team does hit straight down so we are used to their hitters, but it could’ve helped us if we practiced more and focused on the game beforehand,” Dodgson said.

 

The Rockets began to fire back during the middle of the second set by keeping the ball in the air.

 

Even though Moon Valley managed to hold off against Sunrise, the Mustangs used the Rockets mistakes to their advantage by gaining multiple free points from out of bounds balls and poor communication.

 

The Rockets struggled to execute a strong form of communication on the court; however, Villa thought that tonight’s game showed improvement in court conversations. 

 

The Mustangs triumphed over the Rockets in the second set with a final score of 25-13.

 

The final set of the match showed unfortunate similarities to the first. The Rockets gained the first two points of the match, but it wasn’t long until Sunrise rose again.

 

Mustangs libero Megan Flory sent hard serves to the Rockets for more than half of the set. Flory’s serving scored the Mustangs over 10 points in the third set, leaving the Rockets in a difficult position to catch up.

 

Moon Valley continued to popcorn throughout the final few minutes of the third set but were unable to recover from their previous errors. The Rockets lost the third set with a score of 25-4.

 

“I feel like we did not play to our full potential and we have a lot to improve on. I think that we need to start working as a team more,” Dodgson said.

 

Regardless of the points on the scoreboard, coach Villa feels that the Rockets executed to the best of their ability after a difficult few days at Moon Valley.

 

 “It’s been an emotional few days for these young ladies. They’re good girls and they have a lot of things on their minds so I’m just happy that they were ready to battle,” Villa said.