ARMA – The Altoona-Midway High School volleyball team is executing at a high level for longer stretches at a time as the season progresses. However, consistency still seems to be a stumbling block to the team’s success.
The Lady Jets performed well in spurts here Thursday – actually forcing extended play to decide two of their four sets on the day – but not well enough to pick up a victory in either of their Three Rivers League matches, dropping decisions to both Northeast and Oswego.
The host Northeast Vikings posted a 25-14, 27-25 win over AMHS in the opening contest. The Lady Jetsthen started strong against Oswego but ended up falling 26-24, 25-12.
“We had a slow start and a slow ending tonight, and unfortunately that kept us from coming away with a win in either match,” said AMHS head coach Michelle Stackhouse.
“But in our second set against Northeast and our first set against Oswego, these girls played possibly the best I have seen them play all season,” she continued. “If we could play like that 100 percent of the time, we would have much more success as far as wins and losses are concerned.
“I haven’t lost any faith at all in the girls – we just need to find a way to be more consistent,” Stackhouse said. “It always seems to be the mental part of the game that we can’t conquer.”
Freshman Sandra Morales turned in another impressive performance for the Lady Jets, pounding out 21kills to go along with 14 good serves (two aces), seven blocks, seven tips, and 50 sets.
Seniors Emmalynn Pupanek and Autumn Raymond also had fine showings. Pupanek had 10 blocks, seven tips, and nine kills to go along with four aces and 18 serves, while Raymond handed out 61 sets and 75 passes, while also recording 13 serves, 17 tips, and five kills.
The Lady Jets also got 11 serves, one ace, one kill, and 37 passes from freshman Keyleigh Clines, and junior Eryn Tiger laced nine good serves, including an ace, and added 47 passes.
Altoona-Midway now stands at 1-5 in Three Rivers League play and 5-19 overall. The Lady Jets are slated to play TRL triangulars on the road twice this week, traveling to Cherokee on Tuesday and to Uniontown on Thursday.