Our Varsity Lady Eagles suffered a hard setback in their first home game of the season against the Memorial Lady Mustangs on August 31, with the scores 19-25, 14-25, 13-25.

“We’re so excited to be home,” Head Coach Stephenson said. “I think the girls have kept a real positive attitude about [not being in their own gym] and just being in our own familiar surroundings has given the girls a boost of energy.”

Captain’s outside hitter, Cheyenne King (12), middle blocker, Laila Collins (10), and setter, Eryn Castaneda (12) have been physically and mentally preparing for Memorial all week.

“We’re just trying to work together as a team,” King said. “I want us to execute the skills I know we have and everything we’ve been practicing actually [gets] put on to the court.”

The first set was lit with electricity. While the first point of the match went to Memorial, the girls kept their communication high and played as one. The first point for Falls came from Collins and outside hitter, Caitlyn Carmody (11) with a giant swing block.

“[We’re playing] pretty solid,” Collins said. “Everybody’s energy is pretty high.”

As Memorial began to rack up points with big swings, the Eagles began to falter, but was kept in high spirit’s by libero, Morgan Nix (11) with her impossible digs and hustle. The entire gym erupted to their feet in celebration.

“To win the next set, we need to be smarter with where we put the ball,” defensive specialist, Madison Hurst (11) said.

In the second set, the girls carried that boost of energy from the first. Right side hitter, Demi Lacy (12) swung hard at Memorial’s line and tried to grab a lead early but were unable to.

“We’re working hard this second set,” middle blocker, Morgan Adedunye (10) said. “[But], they can improve on executing their skills [like] closing the block.”

In the final set, the Lady Eagles were discouraged from their previous losses. Although started off with an ace from Castaneda, the team was struggling to syphon energy from one another.

“We just have to not get ourselves in holes,” middle blocker, Kaitlyn Hooper (11) said. “When the score is tight, we have to dig deep and push out of it.”

A burst of encouragement came from Hurst with an amazing dig. Even with the excitement of the first home game of the season, the Eagles are unable to pull off the win.

The Junior Varsity won over Memorial in three sets with the scores of 21-25, 25-13, 25-20.

Points racked up from the team with a plethora of aces, killer swings, and an amazing sense of determination.

The Lady Eagles next game is 5:30 p.m. at Langham Creek High School on September 7.