Lady Raiders fall, 3-0, to Aurora

AURORA - The Sidney Lady Raiders varsity volleyball squad ended its 2015 season last Saturday as the team fell 3-0 (21-25, 24-26, 16-25) to Aurora's Lady Huskies in sub-state playoff action.

Despite the loss, the Lady Raiders played hard throughout the entire game and put together an especially well-played second set – as Sidney forced a showdown that lasted only until the Lady Huskies were able to go up 26-24 for the win.

In the third set, down 24-15 to Aurora, the Lady Raiders kept fighting for points as Maddi Porter dug hard for a scoring return and a 16th point.

The level of play exhibited in the game may be a foretelling of seasons to come, at least according to the stat sheet.

One player, freshman Payton Jung, stood out above all others in the game with 11 kills, two aces and two blocks.

Jung, who has played strong all season, was also joined in scoring and defensive action by a pack of juniors, Porter, Annalise Lecher and Kelsey Knight, who combined for 17 kills at the net.

Another junior, Alex Wamsley, also added two solo blocks, while junior Abbey Mills put up 15 digs, tying with senior Emily Mahr's performance against Aurora.

Sidney coach Sarah Wilson was proud of her team's efforts throughout the season.

"I am incredibly proud of these ladies and the way they played this season, they came a long way and grew throughout the year," Wilson said. "The seniors, Jasmine Jallen and Emily Mahr, took us in a great direction this year with leadership on the court.

"The last three weeks have shown us tremendous growth. Next year we have a group of juniors that have gotten the taste of success and know we can match up with the best teams in the state."

With their final high school volleyball game behind them, the two seniors, Jallen and Mahr, said the team improved throughout the year.

"I think we had a strong season and definitely got better as it progressed," Jallen said. "I'm really proud to have played with all these girls and to have come this far."

Mahr echoed Jallen's sentiment and added her own take on the Sidney season.

"Since our first game this season, we have played so much better," Mahr said. "We really came together as a team and learned to play at a different level."

As a junior, Porter will be one of the seniors on next season's squad and will inherit the mantle of expectations for another post-season. She said playing with Jallen and Mahr, going back to before the 2015 season, made a huge difference for her.

"I've been playing with (Mahr) for the last two years, since I was a freshman and she was a sophomore, so I know it's a hard game for her today," Porter said. "And with (Jallen), she is my most favorite person in the whole world and on this team, so I am going to miss her so much. The two of them brought such leadership to this team.

"We have a strong group of juniors on this year's team and I feel like we are going to are going to improve a lot next season, because if you look back at the beginning of this year, we're not even the same team. We're going to grow a lot in 2016."

Defensively, Knight tallied up 11 digs, while Natalie Radcliffe added nine of her own. Mahr put up 22 assists and the trio of Porter, Knight and Mills combined for 63 receptions.

With the loss, the Lady Raiders end the season with a 17-16 record overall and sole ownership of the District B-8 championship.