Cate struggled with its passing and ball control and dropped a 25-19, 25-17, 18-25, 25-21 decision against Nordhoff in a Tri-Valley League girls volleyball match on Thursday.
The Rams got off to a bad start, falling behind 20-5. They fought back and pulled to within 23-19 before falling short at the end.
“We did show character by making a good comeback,” said Cate coach Greg Novak.
Novak noted that Nordhoff’s tough serving made it difficult for his team to get into a rhythm.
“Our passing and hitting reflected the outcome of the match,” he said. “When you are passing 1.30 (out of 3) and you have five hitters hitting minus, you won’t win many matches. But we did remind the team that even though our stats were poor, we were still nipping at Nordhoff’s heels. We just have to clean up a few things. We also reminded the team that tonight set the bar and we now know how hard we have to work in our league.”
Cate (1-1) hosts Oaks Christian, Pacifica Christian and Laguna Blanca in its Mesa Mixer on Saturday.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.