Sports
Ladue Volleyball Falls in Three Games to Parkway Central
The Colts rally for a 23-25, 25-16, 25-15 victory Thursday at Ladue.
Statements can be made in losses as well as victories.
The Ladue girls volleyball team made a positive statement despite falling to Parkway Central 23-25, 25-16, 25-15 Thursday at Ladue.
The Rams are an extremely young team with no seniors on the roster. Ladue started a pair of freshmen Thursday and competed from start to finish against an experienced Colt squad.
Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"I play club ball against a few of them and Parkway Central is definitely one of the most competitive teams we play all year," Ladue junior Erika Ingels said. "We are a developmental team and we are just pushing to get better every game.
"I thought we played a lot better today than we did against Kennedy (a Ladue victory Tuesday). The offense looked great tonight and the young players really played well. I felt awesome with the way we played."
Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Rams played about as well as they could in the first game. They had the lead throughout until Parkway Central came back to take a 19-18 advantage. But Ram freshman Olivia Adkins had a pair of service winners and Ingels followed with a big kill. Ladue closed it out on a hitting error by Parkway Central's Maddie Bell.
"They were a lot more prepared to play that first game today," Parkway Central coach Tom Schaefer said. "They served extremely well and we were finally able to get the serve receive under control in the next two games. They are a much improved team. They gave us more than we expected."
Parkway Central jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the second game although the Rams rallied to pull within two points at 16-18 before Anne Rosen closed out with seven consecutive points.
The Colts started strongly again in the third game and Ladue was not able to close within four points the rest of the way.
"The energy level was up at the start," Ladue coach Roberta McCaffrey said. "It was an hour and a half match and I think we got a little exhausted at the end but the girls never let down. We just made some fundamental errors at the end.
"But I was pleased overall with what I saw today. We have a fresh new look with some girls who are dedicated to play not only in the season but year round. I think we could surprise some people this year."