Rockets fall to Blue Jays in two sets

By Phil Cobb | September 26, 2017 |

West Nodaway’s Lexi Moore attempts to block a spike by Rock Port Tuesday night in Burlington Junction. The Rockets fell 2-0 to the Blue Jays with the sets scoring 25-11 and 25-7 in Rock Port’s favor.

The West Nodaway Rockets were handed a 2-0 loss from the Rock Port Blue Jays Tuesday night in Burlington Junction. The Blue Jays won the sets 25-11 and 25-7.

Putting in three to four games a week for almost a month, West Nodaway coach Jennifer McGinness said her team hasn’t had the time to practice what she preaches for much of their mid-season.

“We’ve been so busy with games and tournaments that we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time working on things we should,” she said. “I’m looking forward to next week with only one game so we can spend the rest of the week in our gym getting better.”

McGinness said the lack of practice mixed with the mental blocks the team places on themselves when it comes to playing teams like Rock Port make improving hard.

“I’ve seen these girls compete and I know what they’re capable of,” McGinness said. “But they get in this mindset where they think they know what teams they can or can’t beat, and I can’t shake them of that.”

While she was proud of the team’s effort against Rock Port, McGinness said she couldn’t help but feel the girls had the outcome decided before taking the court.

“They never gave up, and I know they worked hard tonight,” she said. “The matches even felt closer than they really were because they never gave up. But I could just sense before the game that they knew they were going to lose, and we can’t go into any game like that.”

Both sets between West Nodaway and Rock Port were all too similar. The Rockets fell early, trailing by as many as six or seven points with Rock Port’s barrage of spikes. The Blue Jays then rode the initial momentum to coast to victories in each set for a 2-0 win.

Despite the loss, McGinness was pleased with how the Rockets handled themselves defensively with so many digs. In the coming weeks she hopes to help the team with better settling those spikes in preparation of a more attacking offense.

Against Rock Port Olivia Miller led with four digs along with an ace. Lexi Moore had two kills and Alissa Nelson had an assist and an ace.

At 4-15-1, the Rockets will finish the week with a matchup against Mound City Thursday night at home. Junior varsity will begin at 5:30 p.m. with varsity to immediately follow.