Despite 14 combined kills from juniors Taylor Kelley and Casey Schauman, the Lady Wildcats volleyball team was unable to overcome a second-set onslaught from the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers, falling in three sets 25-18, 25-14, 25-22.

“We just didn’t seem excited to be out there,” Kelley said. “We didn’t click, we didn’t want to win and we just treated it like any other game. In reality, your energy needs to be doubled or tripled when you’re playing a rival.”

The team only had seven assists per set against the Hustlers. By comparison, in a four-set victory over the Space Coast Vipers, the team averaged over 11 assists/set. Also, the team committed 14 digging errors, and only had five aces, led by Kelley who had two.

“Our passing was atrocious last night,” Kelley said. “We definitely need to work on that. Our libero was hurt early on, so that was an issue, but it’s no excuse not to leave it all on the court.”

The Lady Wildcats, now 8-8 on the season, continue play today as they travel to Holy Trinity. Freshman, junior varsity, and varsity competition starts at 5:15 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., respectively.