The Lancers struggled to conquer the DeSmet Spartans May 4, as they lost the match, both games finishing at 18-25.

 “DeSmet had a very tough serve and it just really took us out of our system. We weren’t able to pass the ball and we weren’t able to use all three options [in the front row],” Head coach Doug Ell said.

However, this slight setback benefited the team in the long run.

“I think that even when we were pulled out of the three option pass it gave us the opportunity to really work on our outsides hitting shots. Our outsides stepped up very strong and kept us in the match by being able to point out for us when really the passing wasn’t there,” Ell said.

Outside hitters senior Jeff Drissell and junior Paul McGhee showed strength attacking at the net.

“I would say our strength last night was probably our net play as a whole. I though the blocking was very strong. I thought that offensively out left sides did a very good job,” Ell said.

In addition, defense at the net was solid, as outside hitters Drissell and McGhee, middle hitters junior Rob Berry and sophomore Luke Kreienkamp, and right side hitters senior Ryan Lewis and junior Chris Burkart put up strong blocks to shut down the Spartans’ front row.

“It’s kind of hard to gauge where our middles and right sides were because we weren’t able to get them involved in the offense the way we normally do,” Ell said.

However, Ell has high hopes for the rest of the season.

 “We’re still a very young team. When you start talking about volleyball experience, we’ve got some guys that just haven ‘t seen a whole lot, and they’re learning to adjust on the fly,” he said.

“With DeSmet, you’re talking about playing a state champ, and a possible state champ contender this year.  We’re not that far away; we’ve got a lot of positives. I think we were very capable of beating them. We have all the tools,” Ell added.