Picayune’s Maroon Tide volleyball team couldn’t close out against the Gautier Gators Monday afternoon. The Maroon Tide played well, sending the match into five sets. They started the game out strong and battled back from multiple lead changes to win sets one and two, 25-22 and 25-19.

 

The momentum by the Maroon Tide was lost as the Gators took complete control of the final three sets as the Maroon Tide struggled to connect on passes, an area they’ve struggled with throughout the season.

“We had trouble with our passing and that put us in a hole,” said Head Coach Courtney Dickens.

 

The Maroon Tide found themselves down eight points early in set three, creating a hard deficit that was hard for Picayune overcome. As a result, the Maroon Tide lost set three 25-5. During the last two sets, the Maroon Tide lost 25-24 and 15-9.

 

Defense has been a weak point for the Maroon Tide this season, but Dickens believes her team is in a better position on defense than they were last year.

“We’re where we need to be but we’re back on our heels and not the balls of our feet,” said Dickens.

 

Moving forward, Dickens wants to improve the team’s chemistry, limit sloppy plans, and improve on her athletes’ mental view of the game.

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“Our serving has been good, that was a struggle for more than half of the season, and that’s something we’ve gotten better at, now it’s just getting them to finish games,” Dickens said.

 

The Maroon Tide’s next match will be against Pass Christian on Sept. 30 at 6:30. During a previous match between the two teams Pass Christian came away with a 3-2 win.

 

“We can beat them if we get past that mental part of the game, and if we get our passes in for our setters and get good hits, I think we have a good chance.” said Dickens.