Head coach Vanessa Nidiffer and her Bruin girls volleyball team were home Thursday evening hosting the 5-0 St. Mary’s Lady Crusaders.
The Lady Crusaders wasted no time getting into their well structured attack, keeping the ball predominantly in the Bruin girls half of the court, forcing the Bruin girls into mistakes and jumping to a 1-9 lead early in the first set before going on to win the opening set 3-25.
The quick attack and fast pace from the opening serve in the first set surprised the Bruin girls, who started the second set much more aggressively, staying within 6 points of the powerful Lady Crusaders with 3-9 score early in the set. But St. Mary’s would again overpower the Bruin girls both on the serve and at the net extending their lead mid way through the set before taking the second set 9-25.
In the third set, the Bruin pulled together and though they trailed again early in the set 2-8, rallied with hustle plays to pull within 3 points of the Lady Crusaders 12-15 midway through the set. But St. Mary’s was too strong as the set progressed, pulling away from the Brookings-Harbor and taking the third set and the match, 15-25.
“The team was a little shocked to start with the pace and intensity of the game,” coach Nidiffer said after the match, “but they settled in and started digging and passing very well. The score didn’t really reflect how scrappy they played, and I was proud of their team effort.
The Bruin girls are back on the road to challenge the 2-3 South Umpqua Lady Knights in Myrtle Creek, next Tuesday, with the first serve at 6:00pm.
