The Pike Liberal Arts volleyball team broke every huddle with the word “chatter” on Tuesday and even though the Patriots came up short, head coach Jacqui Wynn was pleased with the effort.

Pike Lib lost Morgan in three sets, 22-25, 12-25, 21-25.

“There was a lot more heart out there than I have seen in a while, and I am excited for it,” Wynn said. “They were talking and everyone of them were hitting the floor at one point or another during all three sets. I can’t be mad when they are excited to come out and go to work.”

The Patriots jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Both teams went back and forth until the game was tied at 12. Morgan went on an 8-1 run to go up 20-13. The Patriots closed the gap to 23-22, but Morgan held on to win.

“They really wanted it, but they are a little timid about going and getting it,” Wynn said. “Our goal all season is to finish, and we just can’t quite get to that finish point yet, but they are getting closer and closer.”

Game two was all Senators. Morgan scored nine of the first 10 points and 15 of the first 20 to gain a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

Even in the lopsided loss, Wynn never saw her players quit.

“We called a timeout and I said ‘where is my fire?” Wynn said. “They went as hard as they could for the last few points, they had such a huge lead at that point that it was almost too much to overcome.”

In the third set the lead never stretched to more than seven for either team. The Senators gained a 24-17 lead and faced game point before the Patriots scored four consecutive points.

“This is a team that likes to battle,” Wynn said. “They like to do it the hard way instead of taking the easier route.”

The Patriots will honor their three seniors on senior night Thursday when they host Lowndes.

“Thursday is senior night and I know our seniors would like to go out with a win and on top,” Wynn said. “They can do it. I think Thursday will be more of an emotional game then they have played in a long time.”

The junior varsity patriots will begin the afternoon with their match at 4 p.m. with the varsity to follow shortly after.