After a hot start to the season by the Yelm’s volleyball program, which included a pair of wins against Stadium and WF West along with a 4-0 record in the Fort Vancouver tournament, Emerald Ridge handed the Tornados their first loss of the 2024 season, this week.
The Jaguars, members of the 4A South Puget Sound League, swept the Tornados, 3-0, on Monday, Sept. 23, with help from an experienced roster. Emerald Ridge won the first set, 25-6, tallied a 25-5 win in set two, and closed out the victory with a 25-14 win in set three.
Post match, Yelm’s head coach Heidi DeFord said the loss to Emerald Ridge provided a lot of learning opportunities for her team. Despite the loss, the team saw 13 different varsity athletes step onto the court to compete against the Jaguars.
“We’re not afraid to try somebody if someone is off. We’re not afraid to try someone out, see what they can do and potentially give them a job,” DeFord said. “Tonight is not the Yelm that we’ve been, but we’re going to turn around. We’re going to battle and keep working.”
With a younger, less-experienced team taking the court, DeFord said the team experienced some pre-match jitters, which ultimately led to the lack of overall energy displayed by the Tornados. She added that the loss to Emerald Ridge will serve as a learning opportunity for the team as it regroups for its next matchup. She pointed to several areas for the team’s younger athletes to grow.
“The girls were nervous before the game started. They need to just step on the court and play volleyball. It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the court,” DeFord said. “[They need to] be super involved in learning from the older girls because we do lose a couple girls after this season, be involved, actually watch and learn from all of this to see what they’re going to be up against at this level.”
Following the 3-0 loss against Emerald Ridge, DeFord’s postgame comments to the Tornados were simple but direct. She pointed to several areas the team should improve in going forward.
“My postgame message to the girls was that we need to learn from this and move on,” DeFord said. “We had eight kills on the night. You can’t win a match with eight kills. We struggled with energy. We struggled with talking, and people were off. That happens, but we let that affect our energy, and you can’t win that way.”
The Tornados 4A SPSL schedule will heat up over the next several weeks, including a matchup with the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Results from the contest were not available prior to publication.
The Tornados will return home at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, to host SPSL opponent, Olympia. That will be the first of two consecutive home matches for Yelm as the team hosts Puyallup at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3. Tickets to both contests can be purchased online at www.GoFan.co.
