Lady Warriors Take MAC Tournament Title; Lady Coyotes Take Third Place

BRIDGEPORT--It didn't take a fortune teller to know that Leyton's undefeated Lady Warrior Volleyball team was the odds-on favorite to take the title in this year's MAC Tournament, however, the Garden County squad was a game opponent in the finals match up, and pushed the Lady Warriors into giving their best effort to take home the top prize. The neutral-site tournament at Bridgeport had a great turnout Saturday afternoon, and the big gymnasium was a great setting for the action.

Leyton was the top seed going into the tournament, and matched up first with bottom seed Banner County. The winless Lady Wildcats were no match for the Lady Warriors, and fell in straight sets 25-to-6 and 25-to-11. Next up, the Lady Warriors faced the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes, coming off a first-round straight-set win over the Minatare Lady Indians, 25-to-12, 25-to-15. Potter-Dix had struggled against Leyton early in the season, losing in straight sets, and this match had a similar result, with the Lady Coyotes falling in straight sets, 25-to-15, 25-to-15. By virtue of their first round win, the Lady Coyotes took third place overall in the MAC Tournament.

Leyton moved on to the Championship Round against the Garden County Lady Eagles, who had defeated Creek Valley and South Platte to earn their place in the finals. The Lady Eagles are a very strong team with 22 wins on the year, and are stacked with tall and athletic players that would be challenging for the Lady Warriors. The first set was an absolute battle between the teams, and the set was pushed to extra points before Garden County put together two point in a row to take the first set 28-to-26. The Leyton girls regrouped for the second set, and were able to outlast the Lady Eagles to take the set, 25-to-21. The Lady Warriors put it together for the third set, out-hustling and out-hitting the Lady Eagles while nullifying their height advantage with precise shots and outstanding court coverage. Their were no "campfires" or players out of position on the Leyton side as they poured it on in the final set. The Garden County girls frantically tried to cover the court, but strong net play by Leyton senior Shawnee Gamble and blocks by senior Sydney Fortune took the fight out of the Lady Eagles. The Leyton girls cruised to a 25-to-12 third set win for the 2-to-1 match win and MAC Title.

After the match, Leyton Head Coach Natasha Haupt said, "We really have to capitalize on our quick offense and play disciplined defense because we aren't as tall as other teams, but the digs we can get off are amazing, and we really preach defense because that's the edge we have that had made us so successful this year."

Leyton moves to 28-and-0 on the year, and was scheduled to finish the regular season at home on Tuesday with a Triangular against South Platte and Garden County. After that, the SubDistrict Tournament starts next week, hosted by Leyton.