Middleton, Fla. — Michele Moreman saw flashes of what she feels The Villages High School volleyball team could ultimately become during her debut as head coach on Thursday night.
And the result aside, it wasn't all that bad of a first impression.
The Buffalo weren't able to win Moreman's opener but showed plenty of pride and fight against unbeaten East Ridge (Clermont), as The Villages fell 3-1 inside the VHS gym.
VHS (4-4 overall) brandished its grit in bouncing back from an 25-18 defeat in the first set by rallying for a 25-19 victory in the second, before the visiting Knights (7-0 overall) took advantage of an uncharacteristic slew of Buffalo unforced errors to earn the road win via 25-9 and 25-11 decisions.
"There were glimpses that just got me so excited," Moreman said. "There were moments — that second set was probably the highest-level volleyball I've seen them play in a couple years — and then there moments where it all kind of fell apart. Those last two sets were definitely disappointing, but we've got a lot of work to do, and I'm excited about that."
University of Louisville commit Nayelis Cabello got things started for East Ridge, as the senior hit with power and precision early and often to rack up six kills during a runaway first set.
The Buffalo jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second frame and never looked back, spearheaded by three kills from junior
Rilynn Farkus. VHS never let its lead slip below three points at any point — withstanding multiple East Ridge rallies — to eventually pull even on the big board at a set apiece.
But from there a rash of unforced errors doomed the Buffalo, as VHS surrendered runs of 10-0 and 7-0, respectively, to drop a pivotal third set by a final of 25-9. The poor play resulted in the Buffalo not finding much rhythm, as VHS tallied consecutive points just once during the set — its first two points of the frame.
"Sometimes, you make one bad play and it just starts compounding," Moreman said. "Unforced errors take the wind out of your sails. We broke down with some fundamentals. The little things become the big things, and we had a bunch of little things that added up."
That set the stage for the ever-talented Cabello to hammer home the victory for the Knights, as the 6-foot star blasted three kills in a 7-0 run to start the fourth frame en route to finishing with a match-high 16.
"If she'd hit a ball down the line and kill it, we had to move on to the next one and have a short memory," Moreman said. "We tried to know where she was all the time, but she's a tough player. She's as good as they get."
VHS will look to get back in the win column at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night, when the Buffalo travel to Bushnell to take on South Sumter.
"That's a really good team over there and we have to give them credit, they came out swinging," Moreman said of East Ridge. "But I think for us putting all the pieces together and consistently playing at that high level (in the second set), that's what we have to work on."
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.
