Raiders drop a tight one

Sadie Forey

RUTHVEN -- The Ruthven-Ayrshire volleyball team dropped its second straight contest at home Thursday in a tight battle with Aurelia, taking game one before losing the final three games by a combined 13 points -- the Bulldogs prevailed 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19.

I was proud of how the girls came out ready to play in game one tonight. They were doing the things that needed to get accomplished on the floor," said Ruthven-Ayrshire head coach Kim Sierck.

The Raiders served at an 85-percent clip and were just under 80 percent in hitting.

"The rest of the night there were lots of little things that could have been better -- taking advantage of free balls, getting three or four serves in a row," said Sierck. "Things like that would have given the team some necessary momentum. The team just hasn't quite gelled yet I don't think. Hopefully that will happen soon."

Ruthven-Ayrshire fed sophomore Sadie Forey at the net. Forey went 31-of-34 in hitting with a season-high 12 kills. She added five digs and was 17-of-21 in serving with five aces. Jessica Larson also added five digs, three kills and was 11-of-11 in serving with five aces.

"Jessica Larson did a nice job for us tonight at the serving line and defensively," Sierck commented. "Sadie Forey played a very smart match at the net, and when her serving was on tonight it really helped us."

Ale Blackburn added two aces on 10-of-10 serving, two kills and three digs. Amanda Long and Alyssa Groshens paced the Raiders with six digs a piece.

Ruthven-Ayshire drops to 1-2 on the season. The Raiders will be in action Tuesday, hosting W-CL/T.