Saints learn valuble lessons, lost to Chemeteka

After a quick 2-0 start in the South Region, the Saints volleyball team ran into a bit of a roadblock Wednesday in Salem, dropping three straight sets against the NWAC’s No. 1-ranked Chemeketa Storm.

The Saints (2-1 South, 5-10 overall), started off conference play flawlessly last weekend but didn’t play as cleanly as they fell to the Storm (25-21, 25-12, 25-19).

Chemeketa improved to 3-0 in conference action, and 22-2 overall.

Second-year Saints head coach Andrew Clifton said his team had no reason to hang their heads on the drive back from the state’s capital, though he would have preferred coming back to Gresham with the victory.

“(We’ve) just got to get over the hump. But we’re constantly getting better and that’s all that I ask for,” he said. “Our main goal is to leave every game and practice better than we came into it.”

Clifton said Mt. Hood’s biggest problem Wednesday night was its “confidence,” which he said the team lacked the entire match.

“That was our No. 1 issue. That (Chemeketa) team is beatable and after watching film (Thursday) morning, our team knew we had a better chance at winning,” he said. “We pressed a lot and tried too hard. We missed seven serves, and I believe we only missed seven altogether in our last two matches. In that video session, we paid attention to body language, cheering, how we reacted to us scoring and how we reacted to their points.”

Clifton said his team still has much to improve upon, but in the same token, he likes the direction his young team is headed as the meat of the Saints’ schedule approaches.

“We are still have a month of improvement and still have tons of volleyball left,” said Clifton.

So far the Saints have played six of the top 10 teams in the NWAC, and come home empty handed all six times, but Clifton isn’t too concerned with the losses, especially this early in the season.

“Now we head to Linn-Benton (today) and they’re ranked No. 5 in the most recent poll,” he said. “I knew coming into this job that our conference was very strong. I think (the South region) is more stacked this year than in years past.”

The Roadrunners are (2-1 South, 21-4 overall) and beat Clackamas (25-13, 25-23, 25-21) on Wednesday.

Clifton looks at the earlier tough competition as a good test for preparing for the final stretch of the regular season, a run he hopes stretches into the playoffs. But for now, his focus is on the Roadrunners.

The Saints’ next home match is Oct. 14 against Clark College (0-2 South, 11-9 overall), and is slated for 6 p.m.