Valley Volleyball Round Uptian

Freshly regrouped from the loss of two senior starters and headed by new coaches, the WP Cardinals seemed in good spirits Tuesday night in their regular season game against DeSales.

But despite their best ef­forts, the team lost to the Irish in three games 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19.

"They played as a team," said Karen Huwe, a veteran volleyball coach who took over from head coach Jessie Buehler. "We hit well, but DeSales was digging well," Huwe said. "We did not have a good passing night. We need to work on our passing."

The team was without starters Megan Withers and Genesis Pearson, who left the Cardinals voluntarily. But Huwe, who has the support of assistant coach Wendy Richards, said other players, including Amanda Cook, Jennifer Nichols and Katie Hofer stepped into the new rotation. Meanwhile, the Dayton Bulldogs beat Liberty Chris­Bulldogs

at home Thursday 25-15, 27-25 and 25-18.

In Thursday's homecom­ing game against WWVA, several WP players had to step into new roles on the court after Withers left the team. "We adjusted," Buehler said. "I thought we played well actually." But it wasn't enough to secure the Cardinals a win. WWVA beat WP in four games 25-16, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-20. "It's hard when you're not playing your position," Bue­hler said. "I'm impressed and proud of them with all the hurdles we had to overcome tonight."

Despite the recent shake­up, the Cardinals are eager to do well the rest of their three regular season games, Huwe said.

"The kids want to fin­ish the season on a positive note," she said. "We have to go on."

WP vs DeSales

17-25, 18-25 and 19-25 Alyssa Hafen 6 kills; Ronnie Hulce 3 kills and 2 blocks; Krystal Harris 7 kills, Amanda Cook 5 kills, Jen­nifer

Nichols 5 digs, Katie Hofer 4 kills and Kayla Hux­oll 17 assists.

WP vs WWVA 25-16, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-20

Ronnie Hulce 9 kills; Genesis Pearson 7 kills, 10 digs and 7 blocks; Kayla Huxoll 18 assists; Krystal Harris 10 digs; Iris Batalla 10 digs; serves - Krystal Harris 7-7 and Ronnie Hulce 17-19.