PREP VOLLEYBALL: Perry says Crusaders need to find confidence

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 29, 2018 5:51 AM

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Youth soon grows up.

And ultimately develops confidence.

Kasey Perry is waiting to see it happen.

The second-year Faith Christian Academy volleyball coach watched her team show flashes of strong play against N.C. Christian Schools Association 2-A rival Wilmington Christian on Tuesday afternoon.

But the Crusaders couldn't generate a consistent offensive flow.

"I told them that my only problem is that we could have won that game, and we just fell apart," said Perry after a 25-14, 25-17, 25-9 loss to the Patriots.

"I have freshmen who are my starters [and] it's nothing skill-wise, it's all about their confidence."

Faith Christian (1-2 overall) yielded too many transition balls and struggled in its passing game.

The Patriots (2-1) capitalized and ran their offense with precision. Sophomore middle hitter Kyra Rickard and sophomore opposite Ella Jordan turned assists from Kat Davis into kills on several occasions.

Davis supplied 23 assists on 28 team kills.

"We had a lot of [plays] where we're not being smart in finding our holes," Perry said. "The easy passes ... a free ball ... we did a lot of that today that gave them too many opportunities."

Wilmington Christian raced to a 14-5 lead in the opening set and easily kept the momentum.

The Crusaders, behind the stellar defensive play of Connor Taylor, built a 5-0 advantage in the second set. Taylor ended the night with a team-high 11 digs.

The Patriots regrouped, knotted the set at 7-all on three consecutive aces from Lauren Longbottom and moved in front to stay on Jordan's kill.

WCA scored on 15 of 22 points played during one stretch and closed out the set on an unforced error.

"We just gave away too much today," said Perry, whose team committed 31 miscues.

Faith Christian fell behind 13-3 in the third set and never recovered.

Perry said her team transitioned well on its side of the net and turned in a more consistent performance at the service line. The Crusaders had six aces, including two each from Emma Hines and Carina LeRoy.

The sticking point remained self-belief.

"They're too busy worrying about being pulled out, trying to please me and the rest of the team," Perry said. "We've only had one good week of practice, so we're still figuring out what works for us.

"It's all confidence right now."