Varsity head coach Vanessa Nidiffer and her Lady Bruins hosted Cascade Christian in their first league contest of the 2021 season. Cascade Christian entered the gym on a 3 game losing streak, and challenged the Lady Bruins from the first serve.
The Lady Bruins again came out flat, falling behind early and struggling to keep pace with the powerful Lady Challenger team. Again, the Lady Bruins dug a deep hole in the beginning of the set before raising the tempo and fighting their way back into the match, however, even after the Lady Bruins roared back late in the set, the Lady Challengers closed the door to take the set 10-25.
In the second set, the Lady Bruins picked up where they left off in the first, and rallied with the Lady Challengers with great hustle plays, keeping points alive and forcing errors on the Cascade Christian defense. Cascade Christian rallied themselves in the second set drawing the score close and edging the Lady Bruins in the end, taking the 23-25 and a second straight set win.
A determined Lady Bruin team walked on the floor for the third set and kept up the pressure on the Lady Challengers, fighting for every ball and keeping points alive. The Lady Bruins took a lead mid way through the set, however, the Lady Challengers rallied late, tying the score at 21, before overtaking the Lady Bruins, closing out the set and the match, 22-25.
“This was a tough loss because the team played so well,” Coach Nidiffer told the Compass after the match. “We started off very slow, but picked it up in the 2nd and 3rd game, we just couldn’t capitalize.”
The Lady Bruins look ahead to closing out a 3 game homestand hosting the South Umpqua Lancers Tuesday at 6:00pm.
