Coming off a 3-1 win against the Seminoles, the girls volleyball team looked to go on the road and hoped for similar success against the Lake Brantley Patriots in a non-district matchup on Sept. 3. Although the Patriots were tougher opponents than last week’s Seminoles, Hagerty is no stranger to Florida’s top ranked teams, having suffered a tough loss to Winter Park the week before, who was  the state’s No. 1 ranked team last year.

Ultimately, the team fell to Lake Brantley with a final score of 3-1.

“This is just a small hurdle,” senior Emma Rethers said.

In the first set, the Patriots set the tone, staying ahead of the Huskies the whole time, quickly reaching 25 and ending the set. But the game would not be that simple the whole way through.

The away crowd roared as the team rallied together in a dominating set, keeping the Patriots far away. However, Lake Brantley, No. 17 in Florida, would not go down without a fight. Near the end of the second set, the Patriots nearly came back, but in the end, the Huskies avoided losing the set, and the score became a tie at 1-1.

“We took a set against Brantley, so we have that in us to be stronger too,” Rethers said.

Though the team got a win, the Patriots would not give up, and ended the game by winning the next two sets. After traveling back home following the tough loss, players are trying to take away what they need from the game, and keep their heads up as the season continues.

“When we’re down, we tend to give up [and] lose people,” senior Jenness Orcutt said. “I feel like we need to like push more throughout the whole game no matter what.” 

The season is not over yet, and the team has many games and tournaments ahead to get even more wins as the season heats up.

Hagerty will go on to face the 5-1 Lake Howell Silverhawks on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“We need to fight hard no matter who we’re playing,” Orcutt said. “But just knowing that we’re playing a harder team makes us fight harder and push more.”