Leyton swings the broom in sub districts

Leyton needed only three sets to capture the D2-11 sub district title on Tuesday night. Yet Diedra Waite expressed as much relief as satisfaction.

"We knew it would be intense," the sophomore hitter said.

The Warriors dropped South Platte for the third time this season, only in this instance by lopsided margins of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-9. But head coach Jodi Craig marveled at her squad's resilience, as if the outcome had been in doubt until the final serve.

"We were able to outlast them," she observed.

Those not at Sidney Middle School on Tuesday night might be forgiven if they react to the comments with incredulity. South Platte held the lead briefly on only three occasions-all in the finale and all early on, with the last coming with the score at 3-2. The Knights closed within three points of Leyton in one other flurry, at 9-6 in the second set. By any obvious standard, it was a dominant performance by the 29-2 sub district champions.

Still, setter Katy Ernest assured, "the score doesn't show the level of volleyball."

South Platte battled for every point. They stretched out volleys to three, four, five or more desperate exchanges on more than a dozen occasions. More often than not, however, the Warriors would forge a definite and final response.

"We needed to play as a team, play our game," Kassandra Harris explained. "We were clicking."

Leyton pulled away in the first when some neat match up play. Ernest filled in the middle, bumping to Kaitlyn Berner, who located Diedra Waite for a sharp slap through the Knights' front line. Moments later, Ernest picked out Waite on the far side and the hitter sliced a neat diagonal shot. With the score at 12-7, Whitney Goeman flicked it to Ernest, who spotted an opportunity and, instead of setting, redirected the ball to the opposite corner. Ernest then returned to her more familiar role, feeding Harris for a clothesline smash to a gap in South Platte's back ranks.

"The girls did a good job of reading their hitters," Craig observed, congratulating her squad on their ability to pick out holes as volleys wore on and the Knights' defense lost their shape.

The second opened with a fortuitous fluke. Following a back and forth battle, a South Platte return careened off Kelsey Waite's head.

"I wasn't sure if Kassandra was going to hit it or not," Waite said, laughing at the play that put her in position to noggin the ball to Ernest. "It worked."

Ernest pushed it to the Knights' back corner to score the first point of the set.

"A dig is a dig," Ernest cut in, grinning. "That was good."

From there it was a slow, grinding, almost imperceptible rout. Ernest dished to Kelsey Waite, whose hammer blow made it 6-1. Ernest fed Diedra Waite, who pierced the South Platte back line, nudging the score to 9-3. She then set up Kelsey Waite's change up that beat the Knights' Shelby Richards at 16-9.

"Katy is amazing," Diedra Waite pointed out. "If we mess up, it's our fault, not Katy's."

The senior setter accounted for 27 assists, distributing the ball up and down the attacking line.

An Ernest set allowed Berner to rip a shot into the far corner, untouched by South Platte hands. Then the veteran setter took a dig from Goeman, turned it toward Diedra Waite, resulting in another point.

That came in the midst of a service run by Goeman that put the score at 22-12, practically ensuring a second set win, despite some desperate volley play.

Goeman led the team with 11 points from the line.

"When the ball is returned, I know they can keep it going," Goeman said, praising her teammates' ability to remain focused and battle for the point.

Three Warriors ended up with double figures in the digs column. Harris recorded 15, Shaela Jenkins 13 and Kelsey Waite 12. The team was equally unselfish receiving serves, as Harris bumped 8 forward, Jenkins and libero Carly Rushman 6 each.

The third set tipped in South Platte's favor to start. But with the score locked at 3-3, Jenkins passed to Ernest, who returned the favor with a perfect set. Jenkins sliced a diagonal shot to the floor to put the Warriors on top-for good, as it turns out.

Following a Kelsey Waite ace, Ernest and Jenkins teamed up again. Stout play by Harris, Berner and Kelsey Waite at the line extended the Warriors' advantage to 12-6. The only bit of drama came when a Leyton dig veered toward the ceiling and ricocheted straight down toward the team's setter.

"That one scared me for a moment," Ernest admitted. "It was coming fast."

Still, she managed to direct the ball to Kelsey Waite, for the point that put Leyton within five of the clincher. Jenkins closed things out with some strong play at the net.

"It's an amazing feeling," Diedra Waite said of the win. "We worked as a team."

The Warriors will face Hay Springs on Nov. 7, with time and place still to be determined at press time. Beyond that, the team anticipates another shot at state.

"All the way," Kelsey Waite said when asked how far this year's edition of the Warriors could feasibly go in postseason. "We can go to Grand Island and back home."

"With three wins," Ernest added.

A tough district final waits. And Leyton has experienced first round disappointment at state in the past. Yet it's a team that enters the critical rounds with confidence.

"We can make it past the first round," Harris said.