The varsity volleyball team faced off against the Cedar Ridge Raiders Friday, Sept. 8 in a suspenseful, neck-and-neck game, ultimately ending with a loss for the Lady Warriors, 3-0. Though both teams fought hard in each set, the Raiders narrowly beat out the Lady Warriors each time.

“I think I definitely could have done better,” Macy Prenger ‘19 said. “They’re definitely really tough competition, they’re really good at placing the ball.”

The first set began with the Raiders quickly putting a point on the board; however, the Lady Warriors fiercely recounted with a spike from Kenzie Beckham ‘21, resulting in the team’s first score of the evening. Both teams were able to keep up their momentum, resulting in close first set. After several powerful spikes from Maggie Stout ‘19, Zoe Menendez ‘20 and Caroline Suter ‘19, the Lady Warriors were able to pull ahead, leading 21-15. After a time-out called by the Raiders’ coach, the Raiders came back with ferocious determination, tying up the game 23-23. The score stayed close for the rest of the set, ending with a victory for the Raiders, 28-26.

“[After the first set] we kinda regrouped thinking like, ‘Okay, we can do this’ and then I guess we just got really complacent and we thought we could go in, guns a blazing, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” Prenger said.

Prenger began the first set with a serve resulting the team’s first point. The Raiders, however, came back strong after the first set, quickly establishing a 4-1 lead. Though the Lady Warriors were able to keep putting points on the board, the Raiders were relentless, keeping a strong lead of 12-7, when the Lady Warriors called a time-out. After the brief break, the Raiders came back just as strong, the Lady Warriors only being able to narrowly close the gap, 22-21. Despite their best efforts, the team was unable to pull ahead of the Raiders, losing the set 25-23.

“I think we could have done a lot better, we weren’t really playing as a team, we were playing a little more individually,” Menendez said. “I think we all fought really hard, we just didn’t really come together.”

The third set was just as suspenseful as the first, with both teams fighting hard for a win. The Raiders and the Lady Warriors stayed close in points for the beginning of the set, tying 10-10. The Raiders were then able to pull ahead, creating massive lead of 20-12. Unshaken by this, the Lady Warriors were able to almost level the score, earning five points and bringing the score to 22-17. The Raiders then earned two more points after a failed block by Audrey Quesnel ’20 and Suter and a forceful spike. In a last attempt to take the set, the Lady Warriors gained five more points in the final moments of the game, bringing the score to 24-22. Despite their fierce determination, the Lady Warriors were unable to overcome the Raiders, losing the third and final set 25-22.

“We scouted them a lot but I think we just didn’t carry that over,” Menendez said. “We made a lot of mistakes that we shouldn’t have.”

The Lady Warriors will face off against Hendrickson High School in their next home game on Friday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m..