Warriors cruise in opening round

Leyton could approach Monday night's sub district opener as if it were a warm up match for the district final to come.

The top seeded Warriors dispatched Banner County, winner of three games all season, in three sets. Only in the second did the Wildcats break into double figures, as Leyton tallied scores of 25-8, 25-13 and 25-8. Yet it was hardly the quick, efficient sweep some expected.

Banner County took early leads in the first and second sets, thanks to the tricky deliveries of Dalle Rutledge.

"Her serves had a weird curve," Kaitlyn Berner explained. "We didn't anticipate that."

Rutledge put the Wildcats on top 4-0 in the first before Katy Ernest set up a precise slam by Shaela Jenkins, killing the unexpected run. Ernest then took to the line and reeled off six quick points, three on aces, one aided by a Banner County miscue and on a deft tap by Kelsey Waite off a Berner set.

Still, it wasn't until a slap to the back line by Diedra Waite, with an assist from Ernest, gave Leyton a 10-5 advantage that momentum turned in the Warriors' favor for good.

"We knew what we had to get done," Ernest said.

Blasts by Berner, Kassandra Harris and a service run by Diedra Waite shut the curtain on the first. But the second set proved more difficult, as the Wildcats took two quick points from Rutledge serves and grabbed another lead when Ashlynne Hanan's persistence at the net forced a Leyton error.

The Warriors suffered through some uncharacteristic mistakes, including eight service errors, seven receiving errors and a half dozen attacking miscues.

"I'm hoping we got the cobwebs out tonight," said Warrior's head coach Jodi Craig. "We're going to have to make South Platte earn points."

The South Platte Knights face Leyton in Tuesday night's finale, thanks to their draining, five-set win over Garden County. Though perhaps worn Monday's match, the Knights have played Leyton tough in two previous encounters. In mid-September, Leyton managed a two-set sweep, 25-18 and 25-20. They pulled it off again at the end of October, by identical 25-20 scores.

South Platte enters Tuesday's title game with a 14-11 record.

Given knowledge of who they would face in the finals, the Warriors shifted into cruise control in the second, edging to a two-point lead on an ace serve by Dani McKay, maintaining it thanks to a sharp smash by Harris from an Ernest set and finally stiff-arming the Wildcats with back to back Ernest to Berner zingers.

Ernest recorded 26 assists on the night. She also pummeled the Wildcats with 8 ace serves.

Banner County took advantage of mistakes, but could not combat the inevitable. The Warriors expected to win and could absorb a few blows, self-inflicted or otherwise. They returned a Wildcats' shot beyond the back line and forced a serve into the net, nudging the girls in blue into double-digits. But Harris hammered a precise shot through Banner County's defense and Ernest sent a bullet through the back line to secure the win.

"We fire ourselves up," Jenkins pointed out.

The final set was all Leyton, despite a few bumps. Banner County never approached within closer to six points. Ernest fed Berner for a snap shot, Harris for a lazar to the back line and so on. Whitney Goeman came on and racked up six consecutive points from the line. It was comfortable, all the way.

"We didn't have intensity at the start," Berner said. "I knew we'd pick it up when we needed it."

Jenkins and the Waite sisters dominated at the net, recording a combined 14 kills. Diedra Waite added a team high 9 blocks. Meanwhile Harris and Carly Rushman anchored the back line, contributing 6 digs apiece.

The result over Banner County was expected. And the Warriors have had several good looks at Tuesday night's opponent, South Platte.

"It's going to be a good game," Jenkins said, explaining that the Knights have looked tough of late.

Leyton faces South Platte at the Sidney Middle School gym on Tuesday. At 28-2, Leyton is poised for a state berth, but understands that a team clicking at the end of the year could knock them off course.

"They've progressed," coach Craig said of South Platte. And despite the easy does it performance on Monday, she was not worried about her squad's ability to pick up the pace.

"Emotions will run high tomorrow," she noted.