Toros are flat in loss to Roosevelt Rough Riders

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Matilda Torres’ Alexis Barriga rises up for one of her team-high 11 kills during Thursday’s three-set loss to Roosevelt.

The Matilda Torres Toros’ girls volleyball team was coming off a emotional, but uplifting loss to the Madera South Stallions heading into Thursday’s match with the Roosevelt-Fresno Rough Riders.

However, the Toros never seemed right in the match and suffered a three-set loss after defeating the Rough Riders in three sets during the first half of North Yosemite League play.

The Toros had just one player with more than four kills (Alexis Barriga with 11) and just couldn’t get any momentum.

They lost the first set 25-23, but then had trouble with serve receive. Roosevelt recorded 20 aces in the next two sets for a 25-19 and 25-9 victory. In all, Roosevelt recorded more aces (25) than they did kills (11).

The Toros recorded just 17 kills in the match with 11 aces.

Torres head coach Adam Horner was pleased with what he saw from his team in a tough battle with a better Madera South team. He saw his team improving and settling into roles that made his team successful. After a 4-3 first half of the NYL season, Horner was looking for an improved second half.

However, his team came out flat from the beginning.

Roosevelt won the first set, 25-23, despite recording one kill and five aces. The Toros had seven missed serves. The other 12 points came on Torres mistakes, including four balls hit into the net.

In the second set, Roosevelt used a six-point run, which included five aces for an 18-7 lead. The Rough Riders withstood a five-point Torres run that cut the lead to four, but then took control, again with a four-point run that had a missed Torres serve, a Roosevelt ace, a ball hit into the net and another hit out of bounds for set point.

The Toros came out with a 5-1 lead in the third set behind two aces from Barriga. However, Roosevelt had a seven-point run with two kills, an ace and three Torres errors to take a 10-6 lead.

Torres cut the lead to three, but the Rough Riders scored 11 straight points. In the run, Roosevelt had seven aces for a 22-8 lead in a 25-9 set win.