NEW MARKET — The game was there for the taking Monday evening as Southmont volleyball welcomed North Putnam. In a game which the Cougars committed 25 service errors, the Mounties still couldn’t capitalize and were ultimately swept 25-15, 25-20, 25-20.
“I think part of it tonight was we just got into our own heads,” Southmont co-head coach Casey Phillips said. “In that third set they started to gel a little bit and it’s still early in the season so we’ll get there.”
Tayler Anderson defensively led the way with 11 digs for the Mounties (1-2, 0-1 SAC) in the loss. Regan Remley added in 7 digs. This early into the season the Mounties are still figuring out their rotations and getting used to playing together with so many new varsity starters.
“We thought coming into this season that our strong point would be communication,” Phillips said. “So far that’s been a struggle for us and it cost us some chances tonight. Our back row players weren’t calling calls for our hitters and that’s something that we will have to improve on.”
Erin Barry who joins Phillips as the other Co-head coach sees bright spots at times and knows that the team can continue to grow and get better.
“We just need to string a whole good game together,” Barry said. “We are still trying to find each other and trying to get into a rhythm. I think when we get out of system we panic a little bit so staying focused moving forward is going to be key.”
The good news for the Mounties is they still have time to get these issues worked out. Both Barry and Phillips know that their team has the talent to be successful.
“The more reps they get in practice, the more natural the game will start to become,” Barry said.
“We’ve only been practicing for about two weeks now and these girls only have three games under their belt,” Phillips added. “There’s no reason to panic yet, there’s still plenty of season left and we know that our girls will work extremely hard to get to where we know they can be.”
It’ll be a quick turnaround for Southmont as they will host Greencastle tonight at 6 p.m. for a varsity only contest.
