Richard Montgomery girls volleyball fell to Sherwood Thursday night, 3 sets to nil. The Rockets are now 7-4 on the season.

RM put up a fight in the second and third sets, but Sherwood, led by 6’1” freshman Kaya Heylinger-Powell, was too much for the Rockets.

“The problem we had was the same one we had against Churchill,” senior Abby Hernandez said. “We were nervous and mentally weren’t as strong. Although the second set we stepped up and proved that we did have a chance at beating that team, we gave up through those final points.”

The overwhelming height of Sherwood, especially Heylinger-Powell, made life difficult all night for the Rockets. “They did have height but the way I see it is if you have a good defensive team, then height can’t really affect the game,” Hernandez said. “Take Blair as an example. We had height compared to them, but their defense was there and it was hard to put the ball down for us and they took the victory.”

Even with the sweep, RM kept the pressure on in the second and third sets, losing 25-22 and 25-19. “Although we did not come away with the win, I think we played well and worked together as a team,” sophomore Brooke Richman said. “We were ahead many times thoughout the sets, and we just let them bounce back. I think that goes to show us that when we have the lead, we need to push that much harder to finish what we started.”

RM faces Seneca Valley away next Thursday. “I think we just have to work on our mentality,” Hernandez said. “The skill is there but it’s our focus and concentration.”

JV girls volleyball lost to Sherwood in their last game of the season Thursday night, 2 sets to 1. JV finish the season with a 9-2 record. “We had a really great season this year,” sophomore Rachel Perry said. “We fought really hard to beat every team and I couldn’t be more proud of every single girl on this team.”