Leyton volleyball team sweeps field

OSHKOSH – The Leyton High volleyball team (4-0) kept its perfect record intact as it swept through three opponents at the Garden County Tournament on Saturday.

The tournament opened up with the Warriors polishing off the host Lady Eagles (1-6) by set scores of 25-17 and 25-13. They then battled through a tough first set against Creek Valley (5-2), 25-22, before earning the sweep with a 25-13 final. The South Platte Lady Knights (1-4) proved a tough challenge, though the Warriors defeated them in straight sets by identical set scores of 25-22.

"We like the three wins, but obviously we have lots of work to do," said Warriors' head coach Jodi Craig. "Blocking is an issue for us, and our timing on the blocking is something we're going to have to work on."

In the tournament opener against Garden County, the Eagles were efficient serving as they made just three service errors in the match. Leyton, however, dropped in six aces. Taylor Berner went to the line for 15 attempts and made just one error and while serving two aces.

As the setter, Berner also aided the front line with 16 set assists. Diedra Waite benefitted from eight Berner set ups as she pounded home eight kills. Leyton had a total of 22 kills to nine for South Platte. Kristine Barnett dropped in five.

The Warriors were more active than Garden County in the back court as well. Leyton was better able to keep points alive with 51 digs while the Knights could manage just 10. Natalie Cruise (13), Nickel (12) and Barnett (11) all reached double figures in digs.

After the match with Garden County, the Warriors had a break before meeting up with subdistrict rival Creek Valley. The opening set was the most entertaining of the two as the rivals battled through seven ties with neither exceeding a four-point advantage. Though the Storm led 9-5, a 7-3 run by Leyton knotted the contest up for the first time since it was 3-3.

"It was a challenge at times today," said libero Hope Dykman. "Our serve-receive needs work, but we'll keep working together and we'll get there."

The match was again deadlocked at 13, 14 and 16 before a Waite kill finally put Leyton up for good – though it remained tight until the end. The Warriors were particularly strong up front, with Waite getting four blocks and six kills while Nickel had seven kills and a block. Barnett contributed with five kills. Waite's strong all-around performance included four service aces.

The Warriors added a fourth double-digit digger against the Storm. Barnett and Waite each had 13 with Cruise picking up 12 and Nickel 10.

The Lady Knights proved the toughest puzzle for Leyton to solve. South Platte looked much improved from the team that went 8-16 a year ago. They battled the Warriors to the final point in both sets. The match opened with a see-saw set and finished with a strong comeback attempt by South Platte in the second.

Berner established the right tone in set one when she opened up with an ace. But the Warriors had to survive six ties and consistent early deficits to squeak out the first set. While the second set wound up close, there was a much different character to it than the first.

The Warriors led by as many as seven points on four different occasions – the latest being at 16-9. But a 7-1 run by the Lady Knights turned a runaway into a tight battle the rest of the way. Barnett finally finished the Knights with a service ace off the net for a narrow victory.

"We came into this tournament expecting every team to give their best," Cruise said. "Of course there are always things we can do better, but I think we came together as a team and played very well for this point in the season."

Nickel led the Warriors in the final match with seven kills and Barnett and Waite each recorded five. Waite also contributed at the net with eight solo blocks. Cruise had 26 digs while Barnett and Waite each had 20.

The Warriors are back in action on Tuesday when they host Paxton (3-0) in a battle of unbeaten teams at 5 p.m.