By Milla Butler
After coming off on a win against the Blue Hill Bobcats, the Mustangs were determined to improve their record against the Shelton Bulldogs. In the first set, the Mustangs fell short of their opponents, scoring 16 to the Bulldogs’ 25. Turning it around in the second set, the team returned and took the win, scoring 25-18. In the third and fourth sets, the Bulldogs took the game back with scores of 19-25, and 9-25. Leading attackers for the team include juniors Macy Parr and Katy Soucek. Parr obtained 10 kills, while Soucek received 7. Soucek also contributed in serves, acquiring 4 aces. Another offensive leader was senior Morgan Dinkler, who obtained 15 assists. Leading the team in blocking were Soucek, Parr, and senior Sydney Bartels. Majorly contributing in digging were sophomores Makenna Karr and Sophie Schmidt, and junior Emma Schmidt. Karr had 8 digs, Sophie Schmidt had 20, and Emma Schmidt had 10. Commenting on the Mustangs’ tough loss, head coach Shelby Rupprecht adds, “We had a really quick turnaround from Blue Hill to Shelton. I wouldn’t say there wasn’t improvement, because despite the outcome of the Shelton game, I saw a lot of really good things. We just have to get to a point where we can have high energy and enthusiasm for a whole game and not just parts of it. Coming out of the first set, I told the girls that the good news was that they settled in at the end of the set and started playing more relaxed, which I think really showed during the second set. To prepare for our next few games in the Loomis tournament, we are going to focus on getting our momentum and energy and keeping it once we have it. We will also work on stepping up to challenges instead of playing scared.”