Lady Raiders Take Three Wins Over Week

Mike Motz, Sidney Sun-Telegraph

SIDNEY--Sidney's Lady Raider Volleyball team rebounded from a loss on Saturday, September 9 with three straight wins at home over the past week. The action started on Tuesday, September 12, when Sidney hosted Chadron and Bridgeport for a triangular. Sidney started off with Chadron, a team that has struggled so far against the stronger teams they have faced. This match was no different, with Sidney starting strong and taking the first set 25-to-22. The Lady Cardinals regrouped and battled hard in the second set, and were able to get the final points in a 25-to-23 second set victory. Sidney bore down in the third set, and the back-and-forth battle raged until Sidney was able to string together the final points at the end of the set to take a 25-to-22 win, for the 2-to-1 match victory. Senior Chloe Ahrens had a great match on offense, leading the Lady Raiders with 16 kills, while senior Payton Schrotberger had an astounding 33 assists in the win.

Sidney then matched up with Bridgeport in the final match, and had little trouble, breezing through the first set with a 25-to-18 victory. But in the second set, the Lady Bulldogs found their groove and battled Sidney the whole way. Neither team could get the edge in regulation play, so extra points were required to settle the set. Sidney finally put down Bridgeport with a 31-to-29 second set win, for the 2-to-0 match victory. Senior Karsyn Leeling led the offense with 11 kills and Schrotberger again fed the offense with 27 assists.

On Thursday the Lady Raiders hosted Alliance, and the Lady Bulldogs kept it close in the first set, falling by a score of 25-to-22. Alliance regrouped in the second set and were able to outplay the Lady Raiders, taking the second set by a score of 25-to-17. But Sidney again regrouped, and focused their efforts nicely, rattling off a 25-to-22 third set victory, then overwhelmed their rivals in the final set, 25-to-8. Leeling again led the offense with 19 kills, and Schrotberger had another great match, racking up 39 assists in the win.

After the victories, head coach Julie Smith said, "Chadron has a very balanced team and Bridgeport plays scrappy defense, so it was good to get those wins. We started off a bit sluggish against Alliance, but finished the match strong. I've been very pleased with the play of our veterans, and Deanna Horst continues to block well and Kierra Schrader's skill set continues to grow with each game. We have another busy week ahead with Chase County on Tuesday, Gering and Mitchell on Thursday and then the Aurora Tournament on Saturday."