Cobras continue to see growth
The Triton volleyball team is beginning to see some growth as it picked up its first victories of the season last week with a victory against Waseca and a solid showing in the Irondale Tournament last weekend. Such victories are a crucial part of a young team that lacks experience, but has tremendous talent.
“One of the things our coaching staff is really trying to instill in our athletes is a positive, growth-based mindset,” Triton volleyball coach Rebecca Goosens explained. “The idea of that is changing your thinking to consistently believe in yourself and the team rather than becoming frustrated and reverting to negative thinking.”
The positive train of thought was re-enforced last Tuesday when the Cobras hosted the Waseca Jays. After coming out strongly in a first set win (25-14), Triton fell in the second game (25-21) before turning around for a 26-24 victory in the third game and a 25-17 victory to clinch the match.
Alexis Melder continued to make her seamless transition to libero as she added 21 digs for the Cobras while Greta Rhodes was constantly on the attack with 23 kills, 15 assists, seven digs and a pair of aces. With the victory, the Cobras had plenty of momentum heading to Irondale.
Things didn’t get off to the best start for the Cobras during the tournament on Saturday as they fell to Buffalo and St. Louis Park in the first two rounds. As they headed into the consolation, the Cobras returned to form with solid wins against Proctor and Duluth Denfeld. Such resiliency was something that really stuck with their coach.
“We could have let those two losses bring us down, but instead we were able to stay focused, positive and not let a loss get to our hearts or heads,” Goosens observed. “Buffalo and St. Louis Park were both excellent teams and very indicative of the level of performance I expect to see out of our upcoming HVL matches.”
Another thing that has stood out is the defensive effort that the Cobras have shown. In addition to Melder, the Cobras have come out strong in the middle