Sidney starts hot, falls 3-1 at Gering

The Sidney High volleyball team gave a valiant effort, but eventually fell to district-rival Gering (15-14, 6-1)Tuesday night on the road.

The Lady Raiders won the first set in dominant fashion, 25-14, but dropped the next three by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22.

Sidney opened the match with intensity – it appeared to be the hungrier team that really needed an important district win. The Lady Raiders did just about everything well – their passing was pinpoint and they found open areas on the floor with their attacks. Sidney took an early 6-0 lead and stayed ahead comfortably throughout the first set.

Sidney head coach Sarah Wilson said the first set was one of the Lady Raiders' best this season.

"We played much more cleanly and much more aggressively in the first set," Wilson said. "We had three goals tonight: one was to cut down on unforced errors, the other was pursuing every ball and the third was becoming an offensive threat. We started out doing all of that."

Sophomore middle blocker Annalise Lecher's blocking and fellow sophomore outside hitter Maddi Porter's big swings played big roles in Sidney's hot start.

"We had a lot of good movement and started to trust each other more," Lecher said. "We figured out who was going to cover where, being able to move and see the ball well."

"We were really focused, not necessarily pumped up but very focused mentally," Porter said. "We had no unforced errors in that first set. Everyone came together."

But then things started to go downhill. Gering, who seemed to be completely stymied in the first set, began to find its game and Sidney started to make mistakes. The Lady Raiders opened the second set with a 4-0 advantage, but Gering found a way to take over and win the second set, 25-18, to even the match.

"Gering stepped up its game and we started being too tentative, not taking control and being confident in our hits," Porter said.

"In the second set, as soon as the score got close, you could see that hesitation enter back in (to the Sidney players)," Wilson said. "It's easy to be aggressive when you're ahead, but it's hard to have that confidence when you know the score is a lot tighter."

Gering took momentum into the third set and rode it to a 19-12 lead. Sidney roared back, using an 11-2 run to take a 23-21 lead. But the Bulldogs made good on a couple of late Sidney mistakes and took the third set, 25-23.

The fourth set was more of the same – a battle decided by which team made fewer mistakes. The Lady Raiders were close the whole way and tied the set 21-21. But Gering put down the clamps and earned the final three points of the set to win the set and match.

With the loss, Sidney fell to 8-17 on the season and 1-4 in district play. The Lady Raiders play Alliance at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.