Coming into this Thursday’s conference game, head coach Colleen Shields says she was really wishing the girls would get a win, and they did exactly that. The team defeated the Greenville Yellow Jackets in a convincing 3-0 win.

“I think we need to continue to communicate well,” Shields said. “I think we need to stay louder. I feel like we did a good job of taking advantage of the out of system balls and running a play, and we did well blocking. I thought that as the game progressed we were covering the tips better and reading their hitters more.”

Thursday’s game was a promising showing for the team. They obtained their first conference win, and their performance was significantly better. In the first game, the Rangers hardly had any attacking errors, and while the game was a roller coaster starting out, they were able to gain a 19-12 lead, forcing the Yellow Jackets to take a timeout. With the big lead in hand, Shields decided to put freshman Morghan Tilton in the game. She was originally on our JV team but was pulled up to give varsity another setter. The team was stuck at 24 points for a while, letting Greenville back into the game a bit, when the score reached 24-19 Shields took a timeout to stop the Yellow Jacket’s momentum. Fortunately, they were able to get the last point needed to finish the game 25-19.

“[Playing at the next level] is definitely scarier,” Morghan said. “The pace, and basically everything, mentally and physically, it was a very different level.”

Likewise to the first game, the hitting was very consistent, but unlike the first game, this one was a complete stomp. The team got out to an impressive 12-3 start. Senior captain Kendall Gardner, who was the kill leader for the night, ending with 21 kills, got a kill to make it 13-3. Greenville was forced to take another timeout to attempt to regain their composure. Unfortunately, it did not work, for the ladies in green got another two points before six-point point streak was ended. The game ended strong from the Rangers, giving them their second game victory of the night at 25-9.

“I always try my hardest when I’m playing,” Kendall said. “I don’t think any game means less than any other, but I think last night, I was just on. We had a strong defense last night so our setter Hannah was able to get me the ball, and I was able to put it down.”

The beginning of the third game was yet another roller coaster. Coach Shields took a timeout when the momentum was building from Greenville when they got a five point run to put them ahead 6-4. Coming out of the timeout, senior captain Emma Beck got a solid block to end Greenville’s run. Greenville got two more points before a six point streak from the Rangers, making it 11-8. The Yellow Jackets would use their last timeout at 16-11. The ladies in green, with Greenville unable to stop them, went on a nine-point scoring run to secure the game. A disappointing loss for the Yellow Jackets but a satisfying victory for the Rangers.

“We need to come into every game playing FHC style volleyball,” Shields said. “That means playing to win, not playing safe, not riding on a roller coaster, but executing every time and capitalizing on momentum.”