A Fun Friday!

Another fun Friday night game for the Tigers! The Tigers opened the first set against St. Paul with energy and amazing serving. While the Tigers found their own serve receive tricky, when they did earn their service back they protected it and went on an ace run! For example, London Shute ‘31 earned three aces, Margaux Soslow ‘31 earned two aces, Serena Tanner ‘31 and Ryan Ricks ‘31 each earned one a piece, but Lily Miller ‘31 showed out with seven aces! The Tiger’s rode the wave of aces into a 25-13 win.

In the second set, St. Paul regrouped and came out more aggressive with their serves. The Tigers found themselves not connecting passes, which made it hard for them to build consistent momentum throughout the set. To light a spark within the team Serena Tanner ‘31 had a perfect pass to Allie Jackson ‘31, who set it back to Serena for a kill! And soon after Ryan Ricks ‘31 connected a pass to Allie Jackson ‘31, who set Serena Tanner ‘31 again for another kill! Despite these amazing plays, the Tigers struggled to maintain possession and keep their serve. In an effort to try and light the Tiger’s fire late in the set, Ryan Ricks ‘31, Lily Miller ‘31, and Emma Tillman ‘31 each earned aces, and then Allie Jackson ‘31 had a breakout serving appearance with five aces! The Tigers dropped the second set 15-25 despite some great efforts and plays.

To finish the match the Tiger’s needed to refocus and approach the final set with the confidence that they’d execute the little things – stay low, communicate on the court, be aggressive on the serve and on the net, and continue to support each other through the mistakes. Ryan Ricks ‘31 started off the set with three aces to bolster the Tiger’s confidence. Defensively Serena Tanner ‘31 was the team’s rock, she continued to make great passes to the setter and kept the ball from hitting the ground! Her passes to Allie Jackson ‘31 led to two kills – one for herself and the other for Ryan Ricks’ 31! In addition to Lily Miller ‘31 getting another pair of aces and London Shute ‘31 earning an ace, the Tigers finished the third set 15-7!   

It was amazing to see the Tigers be able to bounce back from a tough second set. This team continues to impress the coaches, the fans, and the other team with their progress from the beginning of the match to the end. Their skill, their mentality, and their ability to adjust will continue to serve them well as the season gets tougher with less practice opportunities and more games. Wish this team good luck in their future games, go Tigers!