The Cassopolis volleyball team is still learning how to win under new coach Demi Schrader.

That was evident in the Rangers’ last two matches where they lost in five sets to Decatur and Brandywine on its home court.

Despite the 25-10, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25 and 15-11 loss to the Raiders and the 25-17, 17-25, 26-24, 22-25 and 15-13 loss to the Bobcats, Schrader feels that her team takes something positive away from the matches.

“This is definitely a game that we need to learn from,” Schrader said about the Brandywine loss. “We learned that we are not quite yet a ‘team.’ We are still trying to figure out what line up works best and who we need in what position. We also learned that we need to work on finishing games and pulling ourselves out of holes that we dig ourselves into.”

The Rangers dominated Decatur in the first and third sets and lost two close sets before falling to the Raiders. Against Brandywine, Cassopolis flip-flopped scores in the first two sets before battling tooth-and-nail over the final three sets.

As the Rangers close in on the midway point of their season, Schrader has noticed a few trends.

“Our biggest surprise is that our passing has actually been pretty good,” she said. “I thought that passing would be our biggest struggle. On the other hand, our biggest disappointments have been our hitting and blocking. We need to work on putting balls down, being more consistent, and reading the court. Also, our team unity has been a bit of a disappointment.

“However, I expected it to take a while for us to learn to play together seeing as though we only have two returning players and a brand new coaching staff.”

Moving forward, Schrader feels her squad will come together.

“I think the biggest thing we need to work on is playing together as a team,” she said. “We have so much potential, but we cannot use it because it hasn’t ‘clicked’ yet. Once we click, I think great things will happen. We also need to work on being more consistent and making less unforced errors.”

Cassopolis will get another shot at the Raiders this weekend as it competes in the Decatur Invitational Saturday.