Raiders 1-2 at Western Conference tourney

It was a long day for the Sidney Red Raiders volleyball team at the Western Conference Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.

Not only was it a long round-trip drive to Chadron, but Sidney finished fourth in the tournament with a 1-2 record. The host Chadron Cardinals won the affair while the Mitchell Tigers followed in second. The Raiders day included two games against district foes. Sidney opened the competition with a straight-set win (25-20, 25-16) over Alliance. The day ended with a 25-14, 25-15 loss to familiar district opponent Gering.

In between, the Tigers handled Sidney 2-0 with set scores of 25-21 and 25-20. Sidney played its first two games at Chadron Middle School. The third-place game was played at Chadron High School. In its 23 matches this season, Sidney has only been involved in four that were not a sweep by one team or the other.

"Today was a matter of momentum," said Raiders Head Coach Sarah Wilson. "Once we gave it to (our opponents) we never got it back."

Last season Sidney won the Western Conference Tournament, though only three Raiders remain from that team.

Sidney's weekend brings its season record to 14-9 while their district record is 4-1.

Perhaps most frustrating for Sidney is that Mitchell and Gering are two teams they handled fairly easily earlier in the season. On Sept. 10, at the Cabela's Athletic Facility, the Raiders swept out Mitchell in three sets.

On Sept. 26, in Gering, the Raiders handled the Bulldogs by taking two of three sets. Sidney fell 25-18 in set one but stormed back to take the final two games 25-14 and 25-18.

"It's just minor speed bump that's all," said Cody Rowley. "I think we'll have to practice a little more seriously. It's near the time of the year when we want to be playing our best."

In the first match Saturday, Sidney did manage to reverse a negative momentum flow against Alliance. The Raiders quickly found themselves in an 8-3 hole. Though Abbi Porter's kill shot stopped the bleeding briefly, Alliance ultimately extended its lead to six at 12-6. Sarah Mahr threw in an ace to claw one back but Sidney was getting single points while Alliance was getting them in bunches.

The tide turned to the Raiders in a big way when Maddi Porter took to the service line. Her serve began with Sidney in a 13-8 hole. When she was through nine points later the Raiders commanded a 17-13 lead. The Raiders were never again behind in the first set. Emily Mahr served out the final two points and Cody Rowley ended it with a slap to open court.

Sidney didn't have to wait for any momentum in set two. The Raiders had it from the start as they jumped out to a 9-1 lead. Some of the highlights of the run included an ace from Rowley at 5-1 and Annalise Lecher's big block for a point at 7-1.

The Raiders kept the pressure up all game and led by as much as 11 at 24-13. NIchele Romick slapped a kill off the Bulldogs Margaret Otto to earn that lead. But the Raiders had to wait three Alliance points before Sarah Mahr's block finally gave Sidney the winning point.

Unfortunately, it was all down hill from there for Sidney despite a positive beginning against Mitchell. The Raiders led by four points on several occassions in set one over the Tigers. A Lecher kill at 12-9 and a Porter kill at 13-10 accounted for two four-point leads. Courtnie HIghland gave Sidney its biggest lead at 18-12 by bouncing a shot off a Tiger back-court player.

After Highland's point, Mitchell's Morgan Michael reversed the tide for good when she took over at the serving line. She led Mitchell to a 19-18 lead. Sidney could only manage a tie after that and never again led before bowing out 25-21.

The energy MItchell picked up from its come-from-behind victory in set one sustained itself in the second set. The Tigers never trailed in game two. Though the set was always close, the game was only tied twice at 3-3 and 4-4. The five-point final margin of victory (25-20) equalled Mitchell's biggest lead of the game.

"We were off. I'm not sure what it was," said Abbi Porter. "We didn't seem to have any chemistry today. We'll be ready for the next one. We'll bounce back."

In the match for third place, Gering never trailed in either game and were only twice tied - at 1-1 and 3-3 in the first set. Abbi Porter and Sarah Mahr had nice back-to-back kills to for the 3-3 tie, but it was a rough ride for Sidney after that.

Despite some impressive plays throughout their final match, Sidney never seemed to find a sustainable rhythm. Their service game, normally a strong suit, was a little off. Sidney never scored more than three consecutive points against Gering.

"There were just too many unforced errors," Wilson said. "It wasn't really any one part of our game. Yes, our serves weren't on, but also our hits were going out and our sets were off."

The challenges don't get any easier for Sidney. The Raiders will host Class C Chadron (18-1) at Sidney Tuesday night. Earlier this season Chadron defeated the Raiders 2-1 in a close match. Sidney won the first set 25-23 before dropping a pair 25-16 and 25-21. The action starts at 4 p.m.