After a long run of success in previous years, boy’s volleyball is having a rough go of it in 2015. The Pirates dropped their ninth game of the season on Friday with a 2-0 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro North (WWPN).
“It was tough today. It was tough. We played the second half of two games. We came out flat and then waited until we were down eight points before we started to play each game. We need to learn to play the whole game. We need to play that way from the start,” head coach Robert Spier said.
WWPN jumped out to a 6-0 lead in game one, and it took until the 23rd point of the game for the Pirates to tie the game. They never held a lead in either of their losses this afternoon.
WWPN went on to win game one 26-24 after Cinnaminson tied it again at 24. In game two, the Pirates went down 9-2 early, which forced a timeout.
In the second game, the Pirates never tied it at 20 and then 21 before WWPN went on to score the final four points of the game to win 25-21.
Spier discussed what cost his team the game on Friday afternoon after the loss.
“It was a lack of effort more than a lack of communication today. I think it’s partly being young. Even though we have seniors on the team, the seniors who were here today have not been playing for four years. There is inexperience out there. We had two freshmen on the floor today. A lot of it is nerves and wanting other people to take the ball because we are afraid to make a mistake. You will not make a mistake going after the ball. You make a mistake by letting it hit the ground. I think it’s more confidence than communication that we need.”
With the loss, the Pirates fell to 2-9 on the season. Despite the rough start to the season, Spier believes the schedule plays into Cinnaminson’s hands as they try to make a playoff push.
“This is a game we could have won. Next week, we can win all our games too, but we have to play all 25 points. If we play all 25 points, we can get back to .500 faster than we can think about. But, we need to play all 25 points in each game. If we don’t, then we won’t be in the playoffs.”
The Pirates return to the floor on Saturday morning at 8am when they travel to Moorestown High School for the Moorestown Invitation.
