Warriors sweep Bayard triangular

Though it wasn't always easy, the Leyton Warriors volleyball team swept two matches in a triangular meet at Bayard last night.

While the Warriors (11-1) easily dispatched Garden County (3-10) in straight sets 25-13 and 25-17, the host team gave them all they could handle.

Bayard edged Leyton in overtime in set one 26-24. After turning back the hosts in game two 25-17, the game for all the marbles went into overtime. This time Leyton turned the tables on the Tigers 26-24 to capture the all-important the rubber game.

"Bayard played well against us and pushed us to be a better team," said Warriors coach Jodi Craig. "We quit attacking the ball at times allowing them to stay in system and this hurt us.

"Defensively, our game reached a new level. We started covering our hitters better and pursued the ball aggressivley," she concluded.

In the match against Garden County, Leyton had a well balanced attack at Kassandra Harris (6), Kelsey Waite (5) and Kaitlyn Berner (5) ruled the net in kills. Katy Ernest and Berner were defensive forces with nine and eight digs respectively. Shaela Jenkins added another seven digs. Ernest had 14 set assists.

Waite proved tough to handle at the net against Bayard with her 14 kills. Diedra White turned back five balls on blocks. Meanwhile the defense Craig was so proud of was by committee. Six Warriors finished the game in double figures. Berner and Jenkins led with 15 while Ernest (12), Waite (11), Harris (10) and Carly Rushman (10) competed the committee.

Leyton will try for win number 12 at Hay Springs on Thursday.