Girls continue play on the road

The Hill City Rangers girls volleyball team is now 7-5 on the season after a “good showing” at the Monument Tournament this past weekend. The team went 3-2 in the tournament, with both losses coming against Stevens High School.

“We’ve had a tough schedule so far with most of our losses to AA schools, and even those were close games that could have been wins had we played our best game,” said head coach Allie Henderson.

Henderson doesn’t like to see the girls give up a close match.

“It’s difficult to lose by a large deficit but it’s even more difficult for me to barely lose. Regardless of set wins and losses, a lost game at the end of the day goes down in the book the same way,” she said. “Close isn’t enough. There are a few losses that I wish we didn’t have at this point in the season but the only direction to go is forward now. I think we should be able to mark down quite a few wins in the book in the next couple weeks, which I'm looking forward to.”

Henderson says the team is meshing well and has a strong rotation chemistry. 

“Every single player is exceptionally talented in their position and knows their role. At this point into the season I would like to see some more aggression and improvising. We are mechanically proficient with great technique and knowledge of the game. We are now working on moving towards being more unpredictable and comfortable with a varying offense.”

Volleyball fans will notice very few home games this year, with the Rangers traveling again this week to both Hot Springs and Sturgis.