Lady Raiders still trying to find their game again

The Rice Lady Raiders are experiencing another season where they struggle mightily as soon as they enter their district schedule.

The Lady Raiders are on a nine-game losing streak currently and on top of that they have yet to win a set, in district play.

One of the more glaring reasons why this is happening is because the Lady Raiders’ confidence has slowly dwindled. When they started their district schedule, they were having some competitive games with some very good volleyball teams and were showing that they could hang with the best of them.

It seemed as though the Lady Raiders were going to turn a corner at some point and pick up a couple of district wins this season. But the longer they have gone without a set to win the more their confidence has dropped.

It’s pretty easy to see that most are their problems are between the ears just by looking at their game against the Columbus Lady Cardinals. In the first two sets they scored a grand total of 15 points against the Lady Cards and to be fair they bounced back in the final set scoring 16 points.

It feels as though the Lady Raiders are mentally defeated in some games before they step onto the court. It’s like they are telling themselves mentally that they already lost the match before it even started and that has to change. This team has plenty of talent to beat quality teams we all saw it happen during tournament play. There is no excuse of not having talent because they have shown that they have the talent, the skill and determination to win volleyball games.

At some point the Lady Raiders will have to look in the mirror and say, “When is enough, enough?” and come out and hit one of these teams in the mouth and come away with a district win in the 2025 season.

They have the coach, they have the talent, and most importantly they have the leadership to turn things around and secure a win in district play. It is up to them if they actually want to do it though.

The Lady Raiders set their sights on their next district game against Industrial, which is set for Friday, Oct. 17, with the opening serve set for 4:30 p.m.