The Pirates have a pair of volleyball victories and are looking to add to that list as they head into the second half of the season.

Coming into the week, Englewood was 0-2 in league but 2-6 overall. They were at home Sept. 24 against Arvada, a team 1-1 in league and 4-2 overall. Englewood is on the road Sept. 26 at winless Alameda. Then, on Oct. 1, Englewood travels to Summit, a team that is 1-2 in league and 1-6 on the season. and the Pirates next home match is Oct. 9 against Golden a strong team battling for the top spot in the league.

The Pirates play their home matches in the field house that is located at the southeast corner of the school.

Most volleyball matches are triple headers with the freshmen playing at 4 p.m., the junior varsity at 5:30 and the varsity at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students with school identification.

This has been something of a rebuilding season for the Pirates and Coach Jes Lucero said she is happy her young, inexperienced volleyball team continues to improve and remain positive as they battle tough league opponents.

“The team actually is coming along pretty well,” she said after the Sept. 22 Wheat Ridge match. “Actually, they are doing better than I expected at this point in the season. Their volleyball skills are improving, they are enthusiastic and their determination is high. They want to improve and they want to win. We’ll just keep at it.”

The Sept. 22 match against Wheat Ridge was a tough challenge for the Pirates. The Farmers enjoyed a decided height advantage that included two power hitters. Wheat Ridge also used their height to block a number of Pirate shots.

In prep volleyball, a point is scored on every serve and the first team to 25 points win the game and a match is the best of five games.

Englewood battled tough early and stayed close in the first two matches but Wheat Ridge won 25-17 and 25-14. The Farmers pressed the attack and won the third and deciding game, 25=9.

Lauren Watson was back on the court after a shoulder injury sidelined her for a couple matches.

“It was good to back on the court again,” she said. “Tonight, we didn’t play all that well plus we played a very good team. However, we know when we pull everything together we play well and we can win games.”

Watson said she is a better hitter this year than she was last year.

“I am hitting the ball with more power and I am doing a better job of placing my shots this year,” she said. “I had a lot of power before I hurt my shoulder and that’s coming back. Also, being out for a couple matches, it takes time to get the timing down like it was. It takes time on the court to time the footwork, to time the jump and make sure to hit the ball at the peak of the arc. We keep getting better and I’m enjoying being on the team because its a lot of fun to play volleyball.”

Erika Cheadle is another of the team’s hitters who said she also is improving her volleyball skills.

“I am working on getting a good approach so I can get power when I hit the ball,” she said. “I also am working on improving my timing to get up on the blocks.”

She said she has improved her ability to read the play so she knows where the other team is going to hit the ball. She also said she is focusing on being quicker getting to the ball when it is returned over the net.

“We are working hard and we are getting better,” she said.

“I am having fun because I love volleyball a lot. I guess that’s because I’m not an aggressive person and volleyball is a team sport where you don’t have to go one-one against another player but stay on your side of the net and do your own thing. But it’s great to get up, hit the ball with power and drive it to the floor. That is an adrenalin rush and it really feels good.”

Pirates have a young volleyball team.

Team has two wins and are improving

Pirates look for wins facing teams they match up well against