HASTINGS, Neb. – It was not the way Rick Pruett wanted his team’s regular season to end.
The College of Saint Mary volleyball team lost 3-0 to Hastings College Tuesday night. The No. 8-ranked Flames finish the regular season with a 10-6 record in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and a 22-7 overall mark.
The Broncos entered the match already knowing they would not qualify for postseason play. But they still showed up to play and won the match by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-18.
The Flames entered the match hoping to lock up the No. 4 seed – and a first-round home match – in the GPAC Postseason Tournament. But the loss dropped CSM to fifth place in the standings and the Flames will now travel to Midland University on Saturday for the quarterfinals.
“I don’t really know what to say as we are limping into the postseason – not from an injury standpoint but from a quality volleyball playing standpoint,” CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. “We just aren’t doing the things we need to do to be successful. We are not being very competitive.”
Grace Werner led the Flames with 13 kills, while Kamryn Willman added 10 and Azaria Green finished with seven. Setters Lauren Anderson and Jasa Wiedel had 23 and 18 assists, respectively. Teammate Rachel Cushing tallied a team-high 14 digs, Anderson added 13 and Lexie Langley chipped in with 12.
“Grace was the standout for tonight,” Pruett said. “She was the one who really brought energy to the game. We aren’t a very good team right now. We aren’t playing for each other like we were earlier in the year.
“The ladies are going to have to dig deep and really ask themselves how bad they want it and how they want the postseason to go.”
