Raiders roll over Gering, Kimball

After blowing past two opponents at the Gering triangular meet last night - perhaps in celebration of senior hitter Abbi Porter's 18th birthday - the Sidney Red Raiders volleyball team have won eight of its past 11 matches. But the Raiders would rather look at it like they're just starting out.

"We decided today was a new season, so we're 2-0," said Sidney Head Coach Sarah Wilson.

By virtue of their three-set victory (18-25, 25-14 and 25-18) over Gering (5-10, 1-4) in the first of two matches last night, the Raiders (8-5) are also 2-0 in another important category - Class B District 8. Earlier this season Sidney defeated Alliance 3-1 for its first district win.

The Raiders concluded their night by defeating Class C2 opponent Kimball in straight sets 25-12 and 25-9.

Despite what turned out to be a big night for the visitors, Sidney started out sluggishly. Gering scored the first five points of the match and built a 7-1 bulge shortly thereafter. A Porter kill and Cody Rowley's tap to an open spot in the back court, however, began to liven up the Raiders.

Sidney climbed out of its funk to tie the contest at 9-9 with an 8-2 run. Savanna Rosenbaum rifled home a kill to the Dogs backcourt to finally get the Raiders back even at nine. But Sidney could never manage a lead in the set as the Bulldogs quickly regrouped with a six-point run of its own to reestablish control at 15-9.

"We had a lot of unforced errors in that first game," Wilson said. "I wasn't worried though. I knew we had the potential to come back and finish."

Sidney would have to wait until set two before showing off how well it could finish. In addition to Sidney errors, the Bulldogs did a solid job of turning back Raiders kill attempts. Gering's Katie O'Boyle, Kaylee Spreier, Kaila Borgman and Allie Boggs were very effective blockers in set one.

The Raiders were never ever to get closer than two points for the rest of game one as Gering polished off Sidney 25-18.

With Maddi Porter opening with the serve in set two, the Raiders jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Two Abbi Porter scores later and Sidney's lead advanced to 4-1. But Gering hung around in the early going. The Dogs brought it back to 5-6 before Emily Mahr served an ace to fuel a four-point Sidney run. Sarah Mahr threw down one of her four aces of the match moments later.

When Maddi Porter took back the serve, Sidney reeled off another five points to begin the rout. Abbi Porter put an exclamation point on the run with solid kill. During the match Maddi Porter served 18 times without error. Rowley was perfect in eight trips to the line.

"(Cody) is not a random server, she goes to specific spots," Wilson said of Rowley's consistent success as a server. "We'll look to serve to weaker players or open spots on the court."

The Raiders finidhed off the middle set with a 5-1 run for the 25-14 win. Emily Mahr set up her sister Sarah for one of the final five and Rosenbaum earned a kill for another. The set ended on an unforced Gering error.

The rubber set was a see-saw affair with ties at seven and eight. The point to tie the game at eight was probably the second longest of the night. Early in the point Riley made a sprawling dig to keep the point going before Rosenbaum finally put a stop to it with a push to open court.

Sarah Mahr aced the next point for Sidney and the Raiders never again trailed. The longest point of the evening came with a 14-10 Sidney lead. Boggs of Gering made a diving dig for the Dogs, but Sidney eventually won the battle when freshman Annalise Lecher dropped one to vacant Gering territory.

"I beginning to feel really good. I think I've come a long way since the first game," Lecher said of her first year playing varsity. "I feel really comfortable with the girls and the seniors have really helped me feel part of the team."

Though Gering managed to sneak within a couple at 20-18, consecutive Rowley scores gave Sidney back its breathing room. Maddi Porter served out the set from there for the 25-18 win.

Porter, the libero, was a force defensively with 25 digs against Gering. Sarah Mahr had nine while Emily Mahr and Rowley dug out seven each. Rowley and Emily Mahr were the assist leaders with 13 and 10 respectively.

After getting warmed up against the host team, Sidney remained in top form when facing C2 opponent Kimball. Rowley began at the service line and staked Sidney to a 4-0 lead. The advantage expanded to 7-1 after Courtnie Highland slapped a point off a Kimball player. Though the Longhorns responded by creeping to within 7-6, Kimball never led in the set.

Abbi Porter pounded home an Emily Mahr set to turn the tide back Sidney's way. Before long Sidney had Kimball doubled up at 14-7 in a run highlighted by Rosenbaum and Rowley kills.

"We've improved a lot since the beginning of the season," Rosenbaum said. "The games have helped us know what we need to work on in practice. Lately we've been working on our set receiving and we've improved there."

The elder sisters, Sarah Mahr and Abbi Porter, had strong service runs to put the Longhorns back on its heels. After the score reached 20-12 Vanessa Riley took to the service line and ran the table to the 25-12 final.

Maddi Porter served Sidney to a 4-0 lead to open the second set. From the start to a Raiders 6-1 advantage, Lecher pounded home two points, Cody Rowley scored an ace and Abbi Porter blocked a Gering kill for a Raider score. From there the Raiders were never seriously threatened. Aces by Sarah Mahr and Rowley highlighted the late going.

Abbi Porter again led the way in kills with eight while Sarah Mahr added five. Rowley, Riley and Emily Mahr were all perfect from the service line. Maddi Porter dug out 14 more for Sidney against Kimball while Rowley (10) and Emily Mahr (7) were again tops in assists.

Sidney sees its third district opponent on Tuesday when it travels to Scottsbluff for a 5 p.m. start.