Lady Warriors go 2-2 Over Weekend

Mike Motz, Sidney Sun-Telegraph

DALTON--Leyton's Lady Warriors' hot start to the season cooled this week with two losses against loaded teams, although the Leyton girls were also able to come up with two wins over the weekend to move their record to 10-and-2 on the season.

The action started Friday night in Merna, as the Lady Warriors matched up against the Lady Coyotes of Anselmo-Merna. The Lady Warriors started strong with a 25-to-17 win in the first set, but the Lady Coyotes regrouped and fired back with a second set win, 25-to-16. Leyton was able to get focused again and rattled off two more set wins at 25-to-13 and 25-to-20 for the 3-to-1 match win. Juniors Sydney Fortune and Shawnee Gamble and senior Trinity Beutler each had six kills in the victory.

On Saturday, the girls traveled again for tournament action in Bridgeport. First up was a battle of the unbeatens against Bayard. The first set was wild, with both teams furiously battling for each point all the way to the end. The Bayard girls were able to hang on and edge out the Lady Warriors 27-to-25 for the set one win. Leyton came back strong in the second set, and another fierce battle ensued, with Leyton pulling out a 25-to-23 second set victory. In the third set, the evenly-matched teams again slugged it out, but Bayard was able to string a few points together at the end, pulling out the 25-to-22 third set win for the 2-to-1 match victory. Fortune and Gamble led the Leyton offense with nine kills each while junior Zaili Benish came through with 18 assists in the loss.

Next up was an always-tough team, the Bridgeport Lady Bulldogs. Leyton started out strong, keeping the Lady Bulldogs guessing and trying to cover the court. The Lady Warriors were able to win the crucial first set, 25-to-22. But Bridgeport fired back in the second set, and the battle went into extra points with the Lady Bulldogs eking out the 26-to-24 second set victory. The deciding third set was close the whole way, but Bridgeport was able to string together the final points to win the set 25-to-21 for a 2-to-1 match victory. Their last match was against Perkins County and, while the Lady Plainsmen gave the Leyton squad a surprisingly tough contest, the Lady Warriors were able to come away with a straight set victory, 25-to-23 and 25-to-18. The Lady Warriors were scheduled for two triangulars this week, traveling to Bayard for rematch with the Lady Tigers and a match against Garden County. On Thursday the girls return home and match up against Hay Springs and Kimball.