The players' faces reflected their disappointment as the Alameda High School team lost the season-opening volleyball match to rival Englewood, 3-0. The one-sided scores of the three games did not reflect the fact that Alameda fought hard, forcing Englewood to work for its points.
The first game was close early. The tipping point came when Englewood, leading 12-7, scored seven straight points to take control of the tempo of play. They went on to win the game, 25-16, won the second game, 25-8, and won the match-deciding third game, 25-9.
"Even though we have five seniors on the roster, we are basically a young team because the other players on the varsity are all sophomores. We do have a JV team and all those players are freshmen," Alameda Coach Shannon Sherburne said after the match. "This is my third year as head coach and our program is getting better and better each season."
She said one of her major tasks is improving the confidence of the players and the team.
"Our players have solid volleyball skills, but they don't have the confidence in themselves that is necessary to put the elements together to win games and matches," she said. "I have been working on player and team confidence since I have been here. And we saw some glimmers of that confidence tonight when we forced long volleys and made excellent plays on both offense and defense. Now we need to play that well consistently."
No team statistics were posted for Alameda. However, there were a sizable list of outstanding Pirate plays. Defensively, the players dove and dug balls off the floor, when a pass went wide of the court, many times players chased it down and passed it back into play. There were also quite a few serving aces and well-placed kills. The coach said setter Ciera Duran and Aaliyah Duran both had outstanding games.
Senior Ciera Duran said she loves volleyball because it is her passion and it keeps her out of trouble.
"I like to get on the court and when I am mad, the anger energy makes me play hard, work hard and prove myself," she said. "On the court, I always try to play hard to show my family and friends I can do it, even though I have severe asthma, so it is hard to keep playing hard the whole match. But I try."
She is the team setter because, in volleyball, the setter is like the team quarterback.
"I am working on my serve," she said. "It is OK, but at times it is not so good. I am working to improve so all my serves are good."
The Pirates have a home match Sept. 7 against Denver North. The match begins at 6:30 p.m.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Alameda-edged-in-opener,234769?branding=15
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