Both the Muskies senior and junior boys’ volleyball teams wanted to open their seasons on a winning note against St. Thomas Aquinas (Kenora) here last Wednesday afternoon.
Unfortunately, you don’t always get what you want.
After winning the first two games 25-21 and 25-16, the Muskies couldn’t put the Saints away–losing the next three by scores of 25-16, 25-12, and 15-8 to give the visitors the victory.
“I am impressed with the beginning [of the seniors’ match] but not the end,” noted Adrian Chapman, head coach of both teams. “They don’t know how to finish yet.
“We have to work on the basic skills,” he stressed. “The thing that killed us was that we thought the game was ours and we shut it down.”
Chapman noted volleyball is a very emotional game and if the players can’t keep their emotions up, then the other team will use that momentum swing to their advantage.
“[Next] time, we will stay up in the beginning and put them away as fast as possible,” he vowed. “They have to keep their intensity up.”
Meanwhile, although the junior boys were swept 25-15, 25-16, and 25-20 by the Saints, Chapman said he was pleased with how the team played.
“All of them did a good job, even the second string players that I put out,” he remarked. “The juniors are so new–they have to get a few games under their belts to get better
“Eventually, they will be really good players,” he enthused.
Both volleyball teams will travel to Kenora tomorrow for a rematch with the Saints–and Chapman is confident his teams will come through.
“I can almost guarantee that we will take these games on Thursday,” he enthused.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
