Maricopa High volleyball nets second tough loss

While the Maricopa High girls’ volleyball team showed flashes of teamwork this past Thursday evening, there were not enough moments to piece together a victory.

Losing their second straight match to start the season, the Rams of Maricopa fell by scores of 25-14, 25-16, 25-15 to the Rams of visiting Antelope High.

“Our biggest struggle is to come together as a team and trust each other to man their position on the court,” Maricopa head coach Paul Olson said.

Olson said the team did show signs of their capabilities to work as a team in the third game, but they were unable to sustain it long enough to pull out the win.

“There were definitely flashes of the team I know they can be,” Olson added.

The Rams started each game by trading points with Antelope, but the turning point came when Maricopa allowed Antelope to go on a sustained serving run. Antelope would score several points, creating too large a deficit for Maricopa to come back from.

Instead of letting one mistake roll into several, Olson said the team needs to bounce back and regain the point.

The team will work on improvements before it heads to Wickenburg on Thursday, Sept. 6. Wickenburg opened its season last Tuesday (Aug. 28) with a 3-2 games victory over Phoenix Christian.

According to the Wickenburg Sun (www.wickenburgsun.com), the Lady Wranglers’ roster this season features five returnees from a varsity squad that reached the state tournament in 2006.

Photos by Mandy Hank