Sidney gains valuable experience against rival

Sidney's Lady Raiders came up short against district rival Alliance in play Thursday, but Sidney Coach Sarah Wilson said the experience wasn't all bad.

"We started out not playing on our level," Wilson said. "In our passing, on every level, we didn't lay like we could."

As a result, the Lady Raiders fell behind two sets to none in the best of five match, 25-21, 25-22.

Wilson said after that, the team adjusted mentally and began to play more up to its potential.

"You've got to give them credit," Wilson said. "That's hard to do being down 2-0."

Sidney came back to win the following two sets, 25-18, 25-17, to even the match, and made Alliance earn a hard-fought win by staying with the home team every step of the way in the 15-13 final set.

"Overall I feel good about the way we played," Wilson said. "We're going to see them several times more and we'll have two pretty evenly matched teams if we make our adjustments."

Wilson felt unforced Sidney errors gave Alliance the edge in the first two sets, but was happy that even with those errors, Sidney kept up on the score board. She pointed out that for the match, the Lady Raiders out-scored Alliance 106-100.

"It was pretty motivating," Wilson said of the Lady Raiders' performance, particularly their ability to make the adjustment they did.

"We've got the tools," Wilson said. "It's getting them to work together consistently," Wilson said. "I felt we grew during the match."

Maddi Porter was among the Lady Raiders Wilson pointed out for their performances against Alliance. Porter had 17 kills to lead the offense.

"She had a strong night," Wilson said. "She does so much for us both offensively and defensively."

Freshman Mattie Johnson contributed 10 kills and five blocks in what Wilson said was "a coming out night. She really stepped up at critical times."

Annalise Lecher added eight kills and seven ace blocks, while Payton Jung had eight kills and four blocks.

The Lady Raiders host Chase County Tuesday for their first home game, one of only five on the schedule. Play is set to begin at 5 p.m.