Cape volleyball falls to the Eagles
The Vikings volleyball team continued to struggle Sept. 19, losing 3-1 to Smyrna.
After falling 25-22 in the first set, the visiting Vikings clawed to a 25-22 victory in the second set, giving the traveling fans a chance to cheer.
The young season’s inconsistent play caught up to the Lady Vikings in the third and fourth sets, as netted serves and unforced errors led to 25-15 and 25-14 losses to end to their hopes of a win over the 4-2 Eagles.
“Tonight’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Cape coach Tyler Coupe. “I really feel like we had good chance to take the match from Smyrna. They had some attacking errors that kept us alive and in it. We had good blocking with strong passing, but were plagued by mistakes that shouldn’t be impacting a team at this level. As a unit, our service effort just isn’t cutting it anymore, and we need to come together and figure out a solution ASAP.”
Erin Morrissey, Katie Knarr, Bre Kusen and Rileigh Wilson teamed for 26 kills in the match. Senior setters Abby Derrickson and Alyssa Whaley assisted on 21 points. Junior libero Emily Lamb had 18 digs.
“Our unforced errors just have to stop,” Coupe said. “We’re constantly shooting ourselves in the foot and not giving us a chance to succeed. We have no flow to our game.”
The fifth-year coach found also found a silver lining in the loss.
“Our in-rally defense and serve-receive continue to be strong and consistent, and now we have to capitalize and turn that into a positive offense efficiency,” he said.
The Vikings will host Lake Forest Tuesday, Sept. 24. The Southern Division Spartans are 3-3 on the season.
