Sidney spikers drop pair of road matches

BRIDGEPORT – The Sidney Lady Raiders' volleyball team stumbled against a pair of opponents at a Bridgeport triangular Tuesday night.

Under the bright lights of Bridgeport High School's new gymnasium, the Raiders first tangled with the undefeated Chadron Cardinals (5-0) and were stopped in straight sets by identical scores of 25-19. Sidney (2-4) then went three sets against the host team before the Lady Bulldogs (5-3) prevailed 25-16, 18-25, 25-21. Chadron won the night by taking out the Bulldogs in the evening's first match.

"I think we have to keep it in perspective," said Raiders' head coach Sarah Wilson. "We have a young team and it's early in the season so I know we'll see steady improvement throughout the year. We had too many unforced errors, but it's not enough to say that we're making unforced errors. We have to get to the root of those errors and that's what we're going to be doing in practice."

The Raiders had the services of sophomore Natalie Radcliffe for the first time this season. She had only been given the green light to return to practice last week.

"It was nice to see Natalie back in and she stepped up tonight," said junior Alex Wamsley. "She may have been a little nervous at first but I know she's going to help us this season. We have good chemistry on this team, but with such a mix of younger and older players we just need more playing time together."

Sidney had its best success against Chadron early in the match when it took a 5-2 lead. A couple of early kills by Emily Mahr and Annalise Lecher and solid serving by freshman Payton Jung had the Raiders off to their quick start. But the three-point lead soon devolved into a 10-5 deficit. The Raiders managed to get within three points on several occassions, but they could never get closer.

A tight battle characterized much of the second set which included nine ties. The final deadlock was broken at 14 when Chadron finally took the lead for good. Sidney was never able to get closer than two points in the later stages of the second set.

"Chadron is very strong offensively and Bridgeport is very good defensively," Wilson said. "I feel we can bring strengh to both sides of that equation and I expect we'll see steady improvemnt in both areas all season."

Jung led the Raiders in kills against Bridgeport with eight, while Lecher had six. Kelsey Knight and Abbey Mills topped the team in digs with four and three respectively. Mahr had 10 set assists.

In the early stages, Sidney and Bridgeport battled through a close first set. But after a 9-9 tie, Bridgeport went on an 11-2 run to put a stranglehold on the opener. The Bulldogs led by a 6-3 count in the second set, but soon Sidney took control and never again trailed.

Maddi Porter was at the service line when Sidney took the lead for good in the middle set. Wamsley's kill tied the set at 6-6 and she put the Raiders ahead to stay soon after. The Raiders were ahead in the second set by as many as 10 points before taking the 25-18 win.

The third set was a tight affair much of the way though the Bulldogs had the edge nearly from the start. While Sidney's last lead was 4-3, Bridgeport never led by more than five at 20-15. The Raiders showed life late, but ran out of time.

"There are areas we're fairly strong in and I don't think we're desperately weak in any area," said senior Jasmine Jallen. "It's a process and we're all working hard and I expect it's going to come together before long."

Wamsley was strong at the net against Bridgeport and led the team with 11 kills, while Lecher had eight. Knight and Jung pounded home six apiece. Knight was strong on defense with a team-high 21 digs and three blocks. Mahr had 21 assists.

The Raiders will have a chance to bounce back against district opponent Alliance on Thursday at the Cabela's Athletic Facility. The freshmen kick off the action at 5 p.m.