To Excelsior Springs varsity volleyball coach Cindy Price, the Tigers’ 3-0 loss Sept. 30 to visiting Missouri Highway 92 rival Kearney provided further evidence that her players are coachable.

“I told them in the locker room, I said, ‘There’s nothing to hang your head on about tonight, because you guys have tried to do everything that we’ve asked you to do,’” Price said minutes afterward.

Specifically, Price saw evidence of the girls’ willingness to follow instructions during the first two sets of the best-offive match. In the first set, a 25-16 loss, Excelsior Springs trailed by two points (15-13) when the Bulldogs pulled away with a 10-3 run. Trailing 15-6 in the second set, the Tigers staged an 8-1 run to make it a two-point contest. They were within two again (17-15) when the Bulldogs responded by outscoring them 8-2 down the stretch to take the set 25-17.

“They put themselves in some good positions,” Price said. “Kearney just has some strong hitters.”

Bulldogs coach Kathryn Cash attri…