The Delphos Herald

DELPHOS — The St. John’s volleyball team has hit a stretch of very difficult opponents.
Tuesday night was no exception as the Lady Blue Jays entertained Midwest Athletic Conference foe New Bremen at Robert A. Arnzen Gymnasium.
The visitors were rude guests, grabbing a 25-17, 25-27, 25-21, 25-14 victory.
“We’re definitely struggling and that is a surprise to me. We’re not playing a consistent game,” St. John’s coach Kaila Cook explained. “We seem to fall apart when the game gets tight and that surprises — shocks — me with a veteran team. I feel like we’re addressing it during practice but we can’t seem to come through in matches. We need to take it one play at a time in those situations.”
Cook felt two Cardinals in particular: Taylor Jones and Jacquie Dabbelt; were the team’s biggest problem.
“Those two are big hitters that can really put the ball down. Their defense was also outstanding,” she continued. “You have to give our opponents credit; they are good teams that are playing well. For us to win, we need to be playing at a higher, more consistent level and we’re not. Our serve-receive was poor; we’re not being aggressive or moving our feet to the ball. When you can’t pass and get the ball to your big hitters, you can’t get a consistent attack.”
Cook noted that junior Lindsy Reindel had a strong match.
“It’s very mental right now. We got the big MAC win against St. Henry earlier but we didn’t follow it up,” she added. “We need to get to the point that we go at it like I know we can no matter the opponent. We’ve done well outside the conference.”
The St. John’s reserves won in three games to improve to 6-2, 2-2 in the MAC.
St. John’s visits Versailles for another MAC showdown Thursday.