PLAINS – The Plains Trotters Volleyball squad fought hard but was defeated in the team’s home opener over the weekend.

Following a couple of matches on the road the Trotters came home to host the Florence Falcons at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Plains High School.

The Trotters offense was limited by Florence, and the visitors took the match in three consecutive sets.

Plains fell to Florence in the first set by a score of 25-14, the second 25-11 and the final set by a score of 25-8.

Plains was led by Kimberly Earhart who had six kills, two assists and an ace to her credit for the home opening match.

As a team the Trotters put together a total of 23 kills on the night.

Plains Head Coach Annawyn Griffin said despite the defeat the team did show positive progression and has continued to improve since the start of the fall season.

“We had some good moments but we need to have more of those,” Griffin said.

During the first two sets the Trotters were able to put together solid streaks where they were able to dictate the pace of the match.

However, the home team could not maintain control of the early sets, contributing to their eventual defeat.

Griffin noted one of the main issues plaguing the Trotters on the night was unforced errors.

She added these things can be fixed and through additional practices she thinks the team will be able to eliminate those costly mistakes in future matches.

Griffin also noted the teams play at the net has made a significant amount of progress since they kicked off the season at the Mission Invitational Tournament in late August.

“The team’s net play and blocking has really improved,” Griffin said.

The coach mentioned the team would be working on a little bit of everything in coming practices but an emphasis would be placed on the team’s communication with one another on the court.

With the fast paced swing of possession, which accompanies volleyball, a team’s ability to communicate between its front line and back court players can prove to be the difference in matches.

“One big thing is communication on the floor. You have to get used to who’s around you,” Griffin said.

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, Sept. 4, the Trotters played an away match at Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula.

Leah Thompson led the Trotters in the away match, finishing her effort with three kills, one block and an ace to her credit.

Nonetheless, Loyola was able to best Plains in three sets taking the competition by a score of 11-25, 15-25 and 13-25.