VOLLEYBALL: Littlerock picks up first win against struggling AV
Sept. 30, 2014
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER - Experiencing a struggle of a 2014 season, the Littlerock girls volleyball team was still looking to win its first set of the year on Tuesday as it visited Golden League foe Antelope Valley.
"They've all been playing for three or four years, so they should know the game," Littlerock coach Alyssa Benoit said of her team. "But I don't expect them to be perfect."
Far from perfect it was, but in sweeping the Antelopes, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22, the Lobos (1-7, 1-3 GL) put an emphatic end to their winless season.
Why be content with winning just one set when you can win much more?
"It feels really good," Lobos setter Yulissa Rojas said. "It just felt like we were in sync with one another for a change."
It felt like that from the very start as the Lobos took an 8-0 lead in the first frame to set the tone for the rest of the night.
But as much as Littlerock felt like it communicated well, Antelope Valley (2-10, 0-4) felt like it couldn't do much right, and its mistakes aided the Lobos' cause.
Littlerock was the beneficiary of 32 free points off of AV errors over the last two sets. The Lobos weren't mistake-free, committing 26 errors over the same span, but those six extra points proved to be vital.
"It's when they make the simple mistakes, like not calling a ball, or not going for a ball they called because they see someone else going to it," Antelopes coach Karen DeHemmer said. "It's those simple mistakes they can't afford to have."
Littlerock took advantage of the opportunities and finished every set with a kill. Nicole Pullum put one down in the first, Bethany Benoit ended the second, and Monashas Sankey had the game-clincher in the final frame.
Rojas' serves were tough to handle for AV all night. With the Lobos trailing 11-9 in the second frame, the setter recorded three straight serving aces to give her team the lead and a momentum it would take all the way to a sweep.
"Even though we haven't had the best season, it was fun," Rojas said. "We brought it together today."
In doing that, the Lobos snapped a losing streak while extending the Antelopes', who haven't won a league game since 2010.
All that losing seems to be taking a toll on the players' psyche and lowering their morale, a vicious cycle which hasn't helped AV, said DeHemmer.
"If we would have won one match, that would have been the incentive like 'Hey, yeah, we can do it,'" DeHemmer said. "They just need one match to win and I think their confidence and their skills will just keep increasing and increasing.
"They just need that one win."
Before Tuesday, the Lobos knew the feeling all too well.
At 0-7 and not having reached 25 points once, the Lobos suffered multiple frustrating moments in 2014. Against AV, which got three kills from Kimberly Jimenez and two more from Tylen Price, they still did, but something changed.
Their attitude.
"They didn't get mad at themselves," Alyssa Benoit said. "They didn't get frustrated with the little mistakes that they usually get upset with."
That ultimately might have made the biggest difference of the night.
"Attitude always plays a big part in the game," Rojas said.
While there may still be many disappointing moments ahead for Littlerock, the Lobos took the first step in dealing with them so they don't feed the mistakes' monster.
The Antelopes are still working on that.
"I need to figure out how to remove the negative mental part of the game," DeHemmer said. "I don't know how yet.
"They need to have confidence in themselves and they need to have faith that they can pull it out."
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER - Experiencing a struggle of a 2014 season, the Littlerock girls volleyball team was still looking to win its first set of the year on Tuesday as it visited Golden League foe Antelope Valley.
"They've all been playing for three or four years, so they should know the game," Littlerock coach Alyssa Benoit said of her team. "But I don't expect them to be perfect."
Far from perfect it was, but in sweeping the Antelopes, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22, the Lobos (1-7, 1-3 GL) put an emphatic end to their winless season.
Why be content with winning just one set when you can win much more?
"It feels really good," Lobos setter Yulissa Rojas said. "It just felt like we were in sync with one another for a change."
It felt like that from the very start as the Lobos took an 8-0 lead in the first frame to set the tone for the rest of the night.
But as much as Littlerock felt like it communicated well, Antelope Valley (2-10, 0-4) felt like it couldn't do much right, and its mistakes aided the Lobos' cause.
Littlerock was the beneficiary of 32 free points off of AV errors over the last two sets. The Lobos weren't mistake-free, committing 26 errors over the same span, but those six extra points proved to be vital.
"It's when they make the simple mistakes, like not calling a ball, or not going for a ball they called because they see someone else going to it," Antelopes coach Karen DeHemmer said. "It's those simple mistakes they can't afford to have."
Littlerock took advantage of the opportunities and finished every set with a kill. Nicole Pullum put one down in the first, Bethany Benoit ended the second, and Monashas Sankey had the game-clincher in the final frame.
Rojas' serves were tough to handle for AV all night. With the Lobos trailing 11-9 in the second frame, the setter recorded three straight serving aces to give her team the lead and a momentum it would take all the way to a sweep.
"Even though we haven't had the best season, it was fun," Rojas said. "We brought it together today."
In doing that, the Lobos snapped a losing streak while extending the Antelopes', who haven't won a league game since 2010.
All that losing seems to be taking a toll on the players' psyche and lowering their morale, a vicious cycle which hasn't helped AV, said DeHemmer.
"If we would have won one match, that would have been the incentive like 'Hey, yeah, we can do it,'" DeHemmer said. "They just need one match to win and I think their confidence and their skills will just keep increasing and increasing.
"They just need that one win."
Before Tuesday, the Lobos knew the feeling all too well.
At 0-7 and not having reached 25 points once, the Lobos suffered multiple frustrating moments in 2014. Against AV, which got three kills from Kimberly Jimenez and two more from Tylen Price, they still did, but something changed.
Their attitude.
"They didn't get mad at themselves," Alyssa Benoit said. "They didn't get frustrated with the little mistakes that they usually get upset with."
That ultimately might have made the biggest difference of the night.
"Attitude always plays a big part in the game," Rojas said.
While there may still be many disappointing moments ahead for Littlerock, the Lobos took the first step in dealing with them so they don't feed the mistakes' monster.
The Antelopes are still working on that.
"I need to figure out how to remove the negative mental part of the game," DeHemmer said. "I don't know how yet.
"They need to have confidence in themselves and they need to have faith that they can pull it out."