Ready for revenge

Robert E. Lee's Jenni Carter and Nicole Bowman have been waiting a long time to face Stuarts Draft again.

Twenty-eight days to be exact.

"As you can see, we were practicing for Draft today," said Bowman. "It's time to kick butt."

The last time the Lee Ladies faced the Cougars, Stuarts Draft's Lexi Eichner gave Robert E. Lee a rough time at the service line - 15 consecutive service points with four aces.

"We've definitely improved since then. I think our passers are getting to the balls a lot better," said Carter, the senior setter. "Now that we have our rotation down, we have a better feel of what's going on."

If Robert E. Lee were to defeat Stuarts Draft, things could get very interesting toward the last week of the season with two teams tied for first place in the Southern Valley.

"We want it more with Draft," Carter said. "We really need to stay in the game and not pay attention to the crowd."

Robert E. Lee may not have as rowdy a crowd as the Cougars, but Lee coach Tiffany Eimers said her team will have plenty of of support.

"For some of these seniors, it is their last chance to do it. It would be a great way to go out," Eimers said. "We have all of their support here. I know I'm geared up for Thursday."

Since Sept.13's match, the Lee Ladies have been working a lot on their blocking.

"Blocking is our weakness. We're not always closing up on the outsides," Eimers said. "If we can improve on our blocking, we will be hard to stop."

Over the past three weeks, Lee has spent at least one hour on blocking in every practice to help fend off Stuarts Draft power hitters Rachel Maki and Tabitha Bowman.

"We are constantly working on our front row," Carter said. "We want this so bad."

The Lee Ladies may be a short team, but that doesn't mean you should count them out.

"That's one of our biggest strengths. We are a smart team," Bowman said. "We play a lot better than most teams think."

When Stuarts Draft defeated the Lee Ladies, Eimers saw a different emotion to her team - disappointment.

"When we left, they were all hanging their heads," Eimers said.

Come Thursday, that will not be the case.

"We're communicating a lot better, which I think is the biggest thing in volleyball," Eimers said. "We're working a lot on placement and just more control."

Similarly for Stuarts Draft, it is the second time around for the Southern Valley teams to gain that upper edge in hopes to earn that automatic Region III berth.

"It's definitely crunch time for us," Stuarts Draft coach Kami Meeteer said. "It's gonna be a good test this next time around, but that just means we're gonna have to go after each game twice as hard. Hopefully we can keep up with all of the hype."

With three district matches left to go, the Cougars know each match is equally as important if Stuarts Draft is to stay undefeated in the Southern Valley.

"We just have to be as scrappy as they are. We have to get balls back like they get balls back, nothing hits the floor," Meeteer said. "I think these girls have been working really hard to get to this point. Coming in we knew we had the experience and the strong players to get this done."