Plains drops tough game to undefeated Eureka

Attrition was the name of the game last Saturday afternoon at the Plains volleyball game against Eureka.

Both teams who were sick or simply spent from a harrowing day of taking the ACT college entrance exams and though the was still landslide 3-0 victory for Eureka (25-19, 25-13, 25-18) both coaches agreed that their girls were doing good just being on the court.

Plains Coach Jesse Cahala said afterward that she was just proud that her team put the their best effort into it and that they had fun.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement as far as their skills go and even though our hearts weren’t in it we still put all of our heart into it,” Cahala said. She pointed to the ACT testing as one of the tough hurdles the team had to overcome before the game and said that she felt it had weighed heavily on the energy of her team.

“They had taken ACT earlier that day and the most challenging part of the competition was that they weren’t mentally there for the game,” she explained.

Confirming Cahala’s observations Plains varsity player Kylee Knudson said that she could see the team was struggling early on in the game but was glad that they were able to make a few good hits and digs in the match.

“Right now we were all sick we were all dragging, we had ACT tests today, our minds just weren’t here right now,” Knudson said. “We had a lot of good digs we had a lot of really good kills but it was just not enough, we weren’t playing to our potential.”

Eureka’s Coach Rhonda Hammond said that she had noticed the same fatigue in her own team as well that night.

“They played tired today and they know it but we’re still undefeated conference champs and that’s been one of our goals,” Hammond said.

She also complemented Plains efforts and said she noticed a marked improvement in their abilities.

“I think Plains has improved a whole bunch. They’re hitting the ball and they’re moving and they’re doing a wonderful job and I love the hustle of the kids,” she said.

Among Plains stats for the night the team had six aces, 18 digs, eight of which were done by Knudson, eight set assists, five blocks and 11 kills. Emma Ehret made four of the blocks and four of kills that night. Lacey Hermiston contributed to aces and Chelsea Roosma made six set assists.

The team now holds a 0-8 conference record and 1-12 overall. Their next and possibly last game will be at home against Hot Springs on Oct. 31 at 4:14 p.m. They will also be hosting Districts on Nov. 7-8 at time to be announced.