Volleyball struggles vs. Highland
BY AARON OTTIS
SPORTS EDITOR
JERSEYVILLE – After picking up a win at the Alton Tournament, the Lady Panthers’ volleyball team has struggled in three successive Mississippi Valley Conference matches.

The latest was a 25-14, 25-12 loss to Highland at Havens Gymnasium Tuesday. The Lady Panthers struggled to put points away and were unable to stop Highland when the Bulldogs started a big run to close out the second game.

Jersey coach Bob Siemer said his team is starting to put the puzzle together, but still has trouble adjusting quickly during a game. The Lady Panthers are recognizing what they need to do to succeed. Whether the team can execute after recognizing their mistakes remains a concern.

“(After the game) I said to the girls that there is one thing that we can improve upon to make us more competitive,” Siemer said. “They all responded that we had to receive the serve better. We’re just waiting for something bad to happen instead of being aggressive, trying to dig the ball and get it to our setter so we can play offense. That gives us a chance to do something other than play defense on our heels.”

Jersey hung with Highland to start both games, but was unable to counter when Highland’s offense got hot.

“We’re making silly mistakes,” Siemer explained. “We’ll bump it to the net, just enough where it is right on the net. We probably did that four or five times. We talk in practice about how we have to get the ball to the back row, unless you are killing it. Sometimes we just get caught in a bad spot and we are trying to do what we can. Kelsey Thomas had a couple times that she was just trying to save us tonight, but we have to do better than that.”

Siemer said that one of the most disappointing aspects of Tuesday’s loss was knowing Highland’s record coming into the match: The Bulldogs had only two wins, each coming from victories over Civic Memorial. Jersey saw CM at the Alton Tournament, and played two tough games before taking a loss. Siemer said he felt like his team had a good chance coming into Tuesday’s match.

Jersey started the week by taking a loss at Mascoutah, 25-10, 25-13. Shelby Woelfel and Kelsey Thomas had four points each. Thomas had one ace, while Woelfel had two kills and a block.

Shelby Smith had two points and seven blocks. Jade Linder added two points, while Kelli Maher had one. Leah Sherman had six blocks.

Senior Kelsey Thomas dives for a dig during the Lady Panthers loss to Highland. Aaron Ottis/JCStar.com