Darian Thompson of North Union returns a serve during a volleyball game at NU on Tuesday. The Lady Cats swept Ridgemont in three sets.
(Journal Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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The Lady Cats of North Union had little trouble rolling back Ridgemont in three non-conferrence volleyball sets on Tuesday.
The Lady Cats started the match strong, climbing to an early lead. Their strong play could be credited to their ability to quickly move the ball.
“I thought they played better tonight,” said NU coach Peg Curts. “We actually moved pretty well on the floor this evening and we worked on being aggressive during the game. We got our hands on some blocks, which is really good because I think that is what has been lacking in our game.”
The aggressive play catapulted the Lady Cats past the Lady Gophers in set one .
No scores were reported for any set.
The tempo stayed high for the Lady Cats during set two. North Union continued their aggressive style by widening the game in the early points in the set. The Cats kept the Gophers’ front line under control with a mix of blocked shots and solid hitting that the Gophers just couldn’t get their hands on the ball.
Curts credited the win to the Lady Cats’ ability to put it all together on the floor.
“We just put some things together that we have been lacking in other games,” she said. “We definitely needed a win tonight. I think a win always energizes a team. I think they just need to build their confidence back up to know that they are a good team.”
Set three was a different story as the Lady Gopher were up against the ropes. Ridgemont was able to keep the Lady Cats, close going point-for-point with North Union.
“That third match, we seemed to have leaned back on our heels a bit,” said Curts. “I don’t know if that was because they were comfortable with the first two (set wins), getting them under their belts and then they think ‘oh well we got this in the bag.’ We have to quit doing that.”
The battle continued through the 22nd point of the set, when the Gophers decided to take some time to figure out their next move.
The break wasn’t affective as the Cats grabbed the edge and the ball with only two points needed to close the set and sweep the match.
The Cats claimed the last two points with ease to improve to 4-7.
on the season.