ST. PAUL – Despite turning the key and pumping the gas pedal, the Altoona-Midway Middle School volleyball squad was unable to get its motor running here Monday, falling in all three of their matches at the St. Paul Quadrangular.
The Jets opened play against the host St. Paul squad and dropped a 25-10, 25-18 decision. Altoona-Midway also lost to St. Patrick’s Catholic School of Parsons and Thayer Middle School, ironically both by identical scores of 25-10, 25-5.
“It definitely wasn’t our day,” said AMMS head coach Chary Weilert. “We didn’t look like ourselves out there. The girls were having a hard time overcoming their mistakes both mentally and physically.
“Mistakes are part of the learning process but learning how to ‘let it go’ is also an important aspect of the game,” Weilert added “Worrying about past mistakes just leads to more mistakes, so hopefully in the future we can focus on ‘in the moment’ instead of dwelling on the past.”
AMMS saw its overall record drop to 2-10 on the year. The Jets are scheduled to return to the courts on Monday, Oct. 2, when they travel to Oswego for a triangular against Edna and the host school.
AMMS vs. St. Paul
St. Paul won 25-10, 25-18. Sandra Morales pounded out five aces and had four attacks at the net. Ashlynn Sicka and Destiny Raymond also fired aces in a losing cause.
AMMS vs. St. Patrick’s
St. Patrick’s notched a 25-10, 25-5 triumph. Raymond had three net attacks while Morales had two net attacks and added an ace. Sophia Sweigart also garnered a net attack.
AMMS vs. Thayer
Thayer defeated AMMS by an identical score of 25-10, 25-5. While they were unable to record an ace for the match, the Jets did achieve 82 percent serving accuracy in the first set, their high-water mark for the day. Morales did claim two more attacks at the net.
AMMS “B” Results
The AMMS “B” squad played single set matches against each of the other schools. The younger Jets lost 25-9 to St. Paul; 25-8 against St. Patrick’s; and 25-13 against Thayer.
Klaire Barlow had an impressive night for the Jets’ “B” squad, ripping two aces and recording three attacks at the net, including a kill.
Kaylor Lampe also fired a pair of aces for AMMS, while Leighin Hunsperger added an attack and a kill.