MW VOLLEYBALL: Lady Jays end season with loss to Warriors

WILLMAR — Despite their best effort, the Lady Jays of Minnesota West fell to the Ridgewater Warriors in three games Wednesday and are all but eliminated from postseason play.

“We played well as a team the whole season,” MW coach Marie Johnson said. “We were able to improve as the year went on. The loss to Fergus Falls Saturday really took our fate out of our hands.”

The Lady Jays came out strong in Game 1, pushing the Warriors to extra points before finally losing the set 28-26.

“The girls came out on fire,” Johnson said. “We really wanted to win the game. We came out and executed well. But Ridgewater pulled out the win in the end.”

In Game 2, the Lady Jay were unable to put together another set like the first, eventually falling 25-17 to go down two games to none.

“We had the same momentum in Game 2, but we seemed a little tired,” Johnson said. “It was a little harder to keep moving. And Ridgewater changed up their game on us and started to use more tips than they did in Game 1.

“That made it a lot harder to read what they were doing and made it easier for them to get the better of us.”

MW came out in Game 3 determined to force a fifth set, but Ridgewater had other things in mind. The Warriors didn’t let the Lady Jays get any traction on offense and were able to take Game 3 25-14.

“The girls looked tired in Game 3,” Johnson said. “They knew that if they wanted to win they would have to play five games. Ridgewater was able to put some runs together and that was too much for us in the end.”

With the loss, the Lady Jays have only a very slim chance of moving on to the postseason.

“It is tough for the girls to have to lose out on the playoffs,” Johnson said. “They really wanted to move on and play more volleyball.”

There are only three sophmores on the MW roster, but Johnson said she could be losing up to six players going into next season.

“It is a hard way to end a season for those moving on,” Johnson said. “There were a lot of sad girls out there tonight.”

Looking toward next season, Johnson knows there are some changes that will need to be made in order for the Lady Jays to secure a playoff spot.

“We will need to concentrate on keeping our momentum up all season long, especially in practice,” Johnson said. “Every practice needs to be like real game. We also have to continue focusing on the little things.”

Even though the Lady Jays’ season has come to an early end, Johnson is proud of the way her team played all year.

“All the girls played their role like we asked them to,” Johnson said. “The three sophmores will be missed. They are leaving big shoes to fill.”

Tags: minnesota west sports, sports, volleyball