Breakdown: Lady Raiders improving

The Rice Lady Raiders traveled to Palacios to take on the Sharkettes and it only took three sets to decide the winner in this one.

The Sharkettes defeated the lady Raiders in three straight sets to win the game and while that seems like it is a bad thing let’s zoom in really quick and breakdown this game with a closer look.

There were times last year where the Lady Raiders got swept in a district game they may have put up 10-15 points each set. The problem last year was the Lady Raiders would get down on themselves if they were down on the scoreboard early and could never really work out of that funk.

This year though, under the new leadership of Head Coach morgan Hunter the Lady Raiders have a bit of a swagger about them. This was proven by the fact that two of the three sets against Palacios went to overtime and could have gone either way, but the Lady Raiders ended up on the losing side.

In the Palacios game the first set went to overtime and ended with a score of 26-24, the second set also went to overtime and ended with a score of 32-30. Then finally the third set ended with a score of 25-15 in favor of Palacios.

Looking at the first two sets it’s already being shown that this Lady Raiders team is building something special and the girls are buying in. They battled and battled until the final whistle and left in all out on the court to try to win this game.

Last season they would have folded the tents and called it a day after losing a close one like the first set. But this time they came back even harder in the second set and stayed hungry for a win before running out of gas in the third set.

They want to succeed and build each other up and turn this program around and show that they too are a formidable opponent in Colorado County and their district.

They have emphasized what it means to be a Lady Raider to these young ladies, and they are taking it to heart. They understand that whenever they pull that jersey over their head, they are representing something so much bigger than themselves.

When they are playing games and they can hear the crowd roaring to life in the gym it gives them a sense of pride knowing that the community and their peers are supporting them so passionately. It gives them motivation to continue down this path with a very talented roster with plenty more talent coming down the pipeline and a coach that knows how to get the best out of her players.

So be on the lookout for these Lady Raiders because despite having an 0-3 district record, they are coming, and they will be here sooner than later.