Lady Raiders on Hot Streak

SIDNEY-- Sidney's Lady Raider Volleyball team had an uneven start to their season, with an opening match straight-set loss to Sterling followed shortly by a loss to Ogallala. After improving their record to 3-and-2 with a win against Mitchell on September 10, the Lady Raiders did have a tournament loss to Gothenburg, but then recovered to earn two more wins in the same tournament against Cozad and Ainsworth.

The Lady Raiders kept the momentum going with wins against Chadron and Bridgeport on September 19 and then won a straight-set match in Alliance against the Lady Bulldogs on September 19. The Lady Raiders look to keep the momentum going as they face Chase County, Gering, and Mitchell to close out the month of September.

Junior Kierra Schrader leads the offense with 79 kills and a 2.5 kill per set average followed by sophomore Reagan Nesbitt with 78 kills and a 0.167 hitting percentage. Sidney has been good with blocking, with senior Deanna Horst, Schrader, and Nesbitt each having 15 blocks on the season. Senior Kayla Westby ranks number 7 in Class B with 25 service aces on the season, and also leads the team in digs with 155 and receptions with 213. Sophomore Taylor Sprenger has been solid so far this season, leading the team with 139 assists.

The Lady Raiders need to improve upon their attack errors and bring up their hitting percentage, but they should improve as the season progresses and the girls become more settled into their roles. Although they still have a few matches with challenging teams like Scottsbluff left on their regular season schedule, looking ahead, if the girls can gel and work together as a team, there's a good chance the Lady Raiders can sweep through the rest of their schedule. However, they were scheduled to face a tough Chase County team in Sidney on Tuesday, and the Lady Longhorns look to be one of the strongest teams Sidney has remaining on their schedule.