Leyton Opens With Home Triangular

DALTON--With a refinished gym floor ready for action, the Lady Warriors of Leyton started their 2023 volleyball season off on a positive note with two big wins against visiting Minatare and Potter-Dix.

Leyton started off against Minatare, and had no trouble breezing through the match with two set victories, 25-to-9 and 25-to-6. The Minatare squad has no height or big hitters on their squad, and were hard-pressed to match the speed and synchronicity of the Lady Warriors.

The offense was spread around in the match for Leyton, with senior Trinity Beutler leading the way with four kills, while nearly every player on the Leyton roster had at least one kill. Junior Sydney Fortune was strong at the service line, serving up five aces in the match and also showing her setting skills with five assists. Junior Kaydence Haupt had 15 digs in the win.

Potter-Dix then faced Minatare and breezed through the match also, 25-to-11, 25-to-11.

Then came the match everyone was waiting for, between rivals Potter-Dix and Leyton. The Leyton team, coming off a strong 2022 season, has experience and good athletes, and are coached well and rarely are out of system. Potter-Dix has a very young team, still sorting their roles out and working on positioning and court coverage. But, the Lady Coyotes are very quick and speedy, and can make up for inexperience or poor positioning with sheer athletic talent. The match started off with the teams trading points, then Potter-Dix went on a rally to open a lead at 10-to-6. Leyton Head Coach Natasha Haupt then called a time out to get her girls settled and re-focused. The short break worked, and Leyton went on a tear, pulling past the Potter-Dix team and not letting up until the first set was under their belt by a score of 25-to-14. They kept up the momentum, and started set 2 with a 14-to-0 run. The Potter-Dix squad was playing well, but Leyton took advantage of their inexperience and kept catching them out of position. The Lady Coyotes struggled with court coverage and setting, and had too many hits go long and out of bounds.

The Leyton squad looked to be in mid-season form, synchronized and getting good sets and taking advantage of scoring opportunities. Junior Riley Jones, a transfer from Banner County, played very well in her first action with the Lady Warriors, although she was out of position a few times. Her strong net play adds another weapon to the Lady Warriors impressive arsenal. The Lady Warriors put away Potter-Dix 25-to-5 for the 2-to-0 match victory. Beutler again led the offense with five kills, junior Zaili Benish had four ace serves, and Haupt led again with eight assists.

The Lady Warriors were scheduled to travel to Kimball on Tuesday. The Lady Coyotes hosted Minatare on Friday, August 25, and again had no trouble against the Lady Indians in a straight set win, 25-to-19, 25-to-12 and 25-to-8. They next travel to Crawford on Friday for a match up against the Lady Rams.