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The Rice Lady Raiders have picked up their fourth win of the season after they swept Bloomington in three straight sets.
The Lady Raiders came out swinging but lost a little bit of steam during the second set but quickly snapped back into form to secure the win.
The most noticeable thing about the Lady Raiders in this game was that they communicated effectively and played with a ton of confidence. Lady Raiders Head Coach Morgan Hunter said that playing with confidence is something her and her coaching staff stresses to the team.
“Playing with confidence is something that we are working on, especially having some injuries and personnel changes that we are dealing with each day,” Hunter said. “We talked about starting with confidence and energy and we started that way, it kind of tapered off in the middle but then we ended that way.”
Hunter also praised her team’s communication against Bloomington because the Lady Raiders were not only talking on the court but on the bench as well. Last season the Lady Raiders struggled with communication.
Their lack of communication was a big factor as to why they lost some games last season, but Hunter said that the team’s communication is getting better and better each week.
“I really like the direction it is heading right now. We talk a lot about being a team and being a strong program and not worrying about the individual,” Hunter said. “We all have a role no matter what it is, if we are on the bench or in the court or in the stands we are all trying to support each other and hopefully with some more conversations with the team everyone will start to see the excitement from the girls not just on the court but off it as well.”
Now, picking up their fourth win the Lady Raiders as a team have built up a ton of confidence but so has Hunter. She took time to acknowledge that these four wins have been huge for their confidence.
“We have a lot of players new to varsity, so I think getting some success early on is huge for us,” Hunter said. “I think the veterans’ or returning players have done a great job of trusting the underclassmen and it’s led to some pre-district success for us and that’s very beneficial for us.”
The Lady Raiders will look to pick up their fifth win when they travel to Ganado on Tuesday, August 26, with the first set scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
