KINGSTON — The Buccaneers are improving in all facets of their volleyball game, but unfortunately it hasn’t shown up in the win/loss column just yet.

The Port Angeles Roughriders (6-2 overall) defeated Kingston High School 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-9, 25-14) in an Olympic League contest Thursday night in the KHS gymnasium. The Buccaneers overall record is 0-7.

KHS found its groove during the first set of play, building a 10-3 lead, but were outscored 22-4 for the remainder, resulting in a deflating 11-point defeat.

The Bucs rebounded in a big way in the second set, holding on for a 25-22 victory to even the match at one set apiece.

PA turned up the heat in the final two, exploiting spots in uncovered sections of the court where Buccaneers players couldn’t reach to nab the victory.

Bucs junior Rachel Bishop, who finished with a team-high nine kills, said her team showed what they were capable of despite the loss.

“We played a lot better tonight than we usually do,” she said. “We picked up the intensity in the second game and I thought that would keep us in it.”

The Bucs offense was potent at times, but the defense was often stagnant.

“That’s something we need to work on,” Bishop said of the team’s defense. “We have to communicate better and work to get to the ball. We have to move around more.”

Bucs coach Lisa Roberts said she knows the Buccaneers defense needs improvement.

“We had some big leads (10-3 first set, 9-3 second set), but they were able to comeback,” she said. “We stopped communicating on the floor and that gave them a chance to get back into it. We have to be on our toes and make sure the ball doesn’t hit the ground on our side. We’ll work out the glitches on defense in practice.”

Roberts said she was impressed with the effort players gave against one of the better teams in the Olympic League.

“Overall, we did an awesome job tonight,” she said. “Everyone gave it their all and stepped it up. We never gave up and worked well together as a team.”

Rachel Shintaku finished with a team-high 18 digs and Jordan Tapp tallied 17 assists for Kingston. In addition, Anna Finlon nabbed nine digs and Lindsey Gard smashed five kills.

The Buccaneers will look for their first win of the season when they host Bremerton High School in an Olympic League match at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at KHS.