Schools
St. Joe Volleyball: Quick 2 Set Win over Rival Visitation Academy
Alyssa Jensen & Natalie Gower and the rest nearing the peak of their game.
The St. Joe volleyball team seems to be playing with a sense of urgency this season. There definitely seems to be an extra pep in their step. They take the court like ferocious lions.
The Angels have rung up a 19-3 record, losing only to high-flying Lafayette (the season opener) and a couple of national out-of-town teams.
Monday afternoon, they made quick work of Visitation Academy, winning in two sets, 25-17 and 25-10.
Look for more game photos on the Ladue-Frontenac Facebook Page.
The Angels parlay a lot of team work, especially up front with 6-foot-3 Natalie Gower and 5-foot-11 Alyssa Jensen dominating the net, along with Morgan Gresham and Grace Carter.
The Angels like to score in spurts of 3 and 4 point runs. Their coach Karen Davis, of course would like the streak to be longer.
Gower has the season in command, leading the team with 162 kills in 40 games played.
Gower likes the progression of the season. “Definitely, our team has gotten a lot better. I really like the chemistry we have now. Just being together, whether its a game or just a practice our chemistry gets better.”
Jensen feels much the same way. “Viz is our rival school and its always nice to beat them.
We come in, and our one goal is to work hard. However time it takes (this match lasted just 1 hour), we just want to get the “W” (the win).
The Angels do look like they’ve reached near peak performance. “We are always fired up, especially when we are at home,” said Jensen.
Veteran coach Karen Davis is pleased with the season so far.
“Our transition is really coming along. The girls are getting better in transition. They are getting off and setting up good shots for Alyssa (Jensen).
The schedule has been anything but easy. “We try and get the best competition we can to keep the girls fresh and improving.”
The good news is, the younger teams are having success and eager to send future stars to the varsity.
“Our freshman team is doing really well. Our JV team has lost just a couple of games, we try and be as strong as we can top to bottom and we have really good coaches in the LaRocca girls (Candace) JV and Casey (Freshman).
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