The Maiden volleyball team will take on the Lady Mustangs at noon tomorrow in Andrews.

   “Hopefully we will get our passes in,” junior middle blocker Rita Klassen said. “If we get our trust up, then we will win.”

   The Maidens struggled with a district opener loss to Monahans followed by a wins over Fort Stockton and Pecos.

   “District is not as difficult as we’ve made it seem,” senior libero Lexy Hernandez said. “It would be a lot easier if we would just take care of our business.”

   The 14-22 record does not reflect the Maidens’ strengths. 

   “We serve aggressively,” senior outside hitter Mikenzie Stokes said. “This can hurt us, but it can also be helpful. We also have some talented hitters who see the floor really well.”

   Seniors stepped up to fill big openings left by all-district players from last season.

   “At first they struggled with the fact that the four seniors who spent the last three years playing were not here,” Coach Traci Pierce said. “It took them a while to realize that they were in charge now and that they have the opportunity to take the team and make it theirs.”

   Both veteran Maiden setters graduated.

   “We had two setter seniors,” junior setter Kassey Gallardo said. “Jaylee [Matthews] and I had to step up for the setter spot.”

   The Maidens worked through problems with rotations and teamwork.

   “A problem that approaches with this being a new team is that we have trouble with communication,” sophomore middle blocker Robin Franklin said. “We do not want to talk to each other on the court, and it seems like we all just expect everyone to know what we are wanting to do with the ball or who is going to go where at that exact moment.”

  The Maidens came out strong against Pecos on Tuesday with 25-19, 25-23 first sets, but dropped the next two to the Lady Eagles, 25-20, 25-14. It took a final set of 15-10 for the Maiden win, which put the Maidens in a tie with Pecos for first.