The Pike Lady Patriots struggled with their serves during and lost in straight sets to the Emmanuel Christian Warriors on Tuesday.

The Patriots held tough throughout the first two sets, and the final scores were 19-25, 16-25, 15-25.

“We had our moments,” said Patriots head coach Jacqui Wynn. “We just have to figure out how to finish the puzzle. We have done it in every game. We would have 10-15 good points, and then we tend to fall apart again.”

In the first set, the Patriots and Warriors were tied at nine before Emmanuel Christian went on a 10-5 run to gain separation.

In set two, the Warriors stormed out to an 8-1 lead before the Patriots rallied on their own 7-0 run. Both teams traded the next few points before the Warriors took a 19-13 lead.

For Wynn, the team’s refusal to quit was a small consolation.

“The small victories are the things that we focus on before we can get to the big one,” Wynn said.

In set three, the Patriots trailed 10-7 when the Warriors scored 15 of the next 20 points to secure the win.

The Patriots struggled to get serves in on Tuesday, something Wynn knows they have to address.

“Serving kind of cost us,” Wynn said. “We were right there in it, and we let our serves get away from us.”

The junior varsity defeated the Warriors 25-12, 12-25, 15-12 in a match that went all three games.

“The have bought in,” Wynn said. “It is something that varsity is still working on.

The varsity squad will host Fort Dale beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday.

 

Follow Mike Hensley on Twitter @MessengerMikeH