BUFFALO – They came very, very close … but unfortunately, Altoona-Midway High School was playing volleyball, not horseshoes.
Despite going three sets and playing a nip-and-tuck deciding set in both matches, the AMHS volleyball team was unable to put its homecourt advantage to good use here Tuesday afternoon, dropping a pair of thrilling matches against Tyro Christian School and Liberty Homeschool Alliance at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
The Lady Jets came up short against Tyro 25-18, 18-25, 22-25; and also fell to Liberty 20-25, 25-10, 25-27.
“That was a couple of tough losses to take,” noted AMHS head coach Michelle Stackhouse. “We came up just short in both third sets in these games.
“There were times we were hesitant to make our moves and that's what set us back,” Stackhouse added. “Also, our serving was not very good tonight. That's something we need to work on more.”
Freshman Sandra Morales had 23 serves, with 10 of them aces, to go along with 63 successful passes, 85 sets and 11 kills.
Emmalynn Pupanek collected 22 kills, 7 serves and 93 passes; while fellow senior Autumn Raymond recorded 37 sets, 96 passes and 17 serves, including two aces.
Junior Chantal Morales finished with 27 serves, four aces and 43 passes; while freshman Keyleigh Clines had four aces on 19 serves, and also notched 37 passes.
Despite those problems, the Lady Jets had great opportunities to win both matches.
“The girls played really well tonight and I'm proud of how they kept going,” Stackhouse exclaimed. “These games were very close and easily could have gone our way. I think we are starting to be able to move on from mistakes and go to the next point.”
With the losses, the Lady Jets saw their overall record fall to 2-6. AMHS will be seeking to get back on the winning track when it travels to Rosalia this Saturday, Sept. 14, to participate in the Flinthills Tournament.