Lady Raiders still smoothing out the edges

The Rice Lady Raiders smoothing out the rough edges before jumping into regular season play.

This past weekend the Lady Raiders competed in the Schulenburg Lady Horn Volleyball Classic where they were challenged in every game they played.

Day One

The Lady Raiders started the tournament by matching up with Goliad. The Lady Raiders started their tournament play with high energy and were making plays to start the game.

They held the lead early on in set one, but a brief timeout from Goliad reset the momentum, and they were able to finish the Lady Raiders in two sets with scores of 25-16 and 25-10. A similar theme followed the Lady Raiders in game two against Yoakum where they would drop their second game.

In the match against Yoakum the Lady Raiders again had a strong grip on the lead and had a good six-point lead over Yoakum. But a timeout from Yoakum reset the entire game and the Lady Raiders were unable to close out the set resulting in their second loss of the tournament.

Game three against Flatonia was much of the same for the Lady Raiders but gave some more offensive pushback. Flatonia won both sets, but the Lady Raiders gave them a run for their money being within two to four points in both sets.

Day Two

After a rough first day at the Lady Horns Volleyball Classic the Lady Raiders looked to bounce back and find their first win during Day Two.

They started the day against Cross Roads and it took all three sets to decide a winner. Cross Roads won their first set 25-18 but then the Lady Raiders came back with a win of their own 25-21.

With the match tied at one set each the two teams entered the third and final set of the match which Cross Roads won 25-16.

This was a great step for the lady Raiders as they played with more swagger and confidence in their first game of Day Two. The unfortunate part is they were scheduled to play Weimar right after their game against Cross Roads.

While fatigue was a factor in this game the Lady Raiders gritted their teeth and gave Weimar their all. Weimar was ready for the challenge and in search of wins of their own though and handed the Lady Raiders another loss.

Hallettsville was last in the schedule for the Lady Raiders and scores of 25-19 and 25-15 earned the Lady Raiders a spot in the Copper Semi-Finals.

Day Three

The Lady Raiders matched up with Brazos in the semi-finals where they picked up their first win of the tournament. It took only two sets for the Lady Raiders to send Brazos to the third-place game by scores of 25-19 and 25-15.

The finals was a rematch against Hallettsville and it ended like the first matchup with Hallettsville taking the victory in two sets.

The Lady Raiders earned a silver medal in the Copper bracket and got a lot of good film to break down and cleanup before they enter the regular season this week.