ROCHESTER — After the first set against Hoquiam, Rochester took the floor hoping to build some momentum into the second set.
The Warriors never got into a rhythm, though, and the Grizzlies eventually swept Rochester 25-16, 25-14, 25-12 in the 1A Evergreen League opener.
“We never even found our flow,” Rochester coach Courtney Baird said. “We just did not have it, and we just couldn’t find it.”
The Warriors (2-6) struggled to string together rallies throughout the evening, as they struggled to get clean passes in serve receive.
“For whatever reason, we just could not lock it down tonight,” Baird said. “My passers just really struggled, and when our back row struggles, our front row doesn’t have many options.”
When the Rochester offense had its bright spots, it often involved Lexi Dupont. The senior middle had several highlights throughout the match, many of which provided a jolt of energy to the Warriors on the floor and on the bench, but that energy was usually short-lived.
“Lexi in the middle, at times, is lights out,” Baird said. “When we can’t use her, it’s tough.”
Baird said that on Wednesday, the physical emphasis will be on serve receive, and the mental emphasis will continue to be on trying to bounce back after falling into a rut early.
“We ebb and we flow, and when we’re down, we’re so down,” Baird said. “Tonight, we just really fell apart … When we have our high moments, we play pretty well. We just have to figure out that we can have a bad set and still turn it around and play well. We’ve just never quite figured out how to do that.”
On Thursday, Rochester will head to Tenino, where the Warriors will hope to top their rivals to pick up their first league win of the year.
“We have to be able to flush this game, because it’s over and it’s done. You’ve gotta be able to move on,” Baird said. “If we show up to play on Thursday, it should be a really good game.”
