Lady Warriors are D2 Runners-Up

LINCOLN--The Leyton Lady Warrior Volleyball team entered the NSAA D2 State Tournament as the number one seed, with a 33-and-0 record and winners of the D2-2 District Championship. The Lady Warriors' last appearance at the State Tournament was back in 2013 when the Lady Warriors lost their first-round matchup. A fourth-place showing is the best result the Lady Warriors have had, back with the 2008 team.

This year's team went into the tournament undefeated, having dropped only six sets the entire season. Hopes were high for a State Title as the girls entered the first-round match at 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, November 7, 2024. The Meridian Lady Mustangs entered the match with a 20-and-10 record, having defeated Garden County in the D2-7 District Finals match last Saturday. If the Meridian team could get by Garden County in a District Finals match, Leyton Head Coach Natasha Haupt knew they would have to battle hard to get past the first round against the Lady Mustangs.

Thursday morning's match started strong for Leyton, opening a 3-to-0 lead in the first set before Meridian came back to tie at 3-to-3 and started to pull ahead. The Leyton offense was tentative to start, and the Meridian offense put pressure on the Leyton defense, causing some uncharacteristic mistakes for the Lady Warriors. The teams battled, and the Lady Mustangs kept up their high level of play even when out of system. Leyton came back and narrowed the lead to 13-to-12, but Meridian pulled away a gain to take an 18-to-14 lead, prompting a Leyton time-out. Leyton then came back to knot the set at 20-to-20, and Leyton pulling ahead 21-to-20 prompted a Meridian time out of their own. The match was knotted again at 23-to-23 but Meridian grabbed the next two points to take the 25-to-23 first set win.

Leyton started the second set down 2-to-0 when they scored three points in a row to take a lead. Leyton moved ahead 7-to-3 when Meridian called a time-out, then stormed back to tie at 8-to-8, then took a lead and slowly pulled away. The Leyton girls fought back hard but made too many mistakes to come back, and Meridian took the second set 25-to-22. The girls were brought together by Haupt, and their play greatly improved after losing the first two sets. Leyton came out much more aggressive on offense, and put pressure on Meridian defensively. The teams battled until Leyton took a 14-to-13 lead and got their offense in synch. Big kills by Ella Haley, Macey Roelle, and Shawnee Gamble powered the Lady Warriors, and Zaili Benish's ace serve gave Leyton a 20-to-17 lead. Leyton outdistanced Meridian for the final points and took the third set, 25-to-20. The fourth set had Leyton playing from behind, but putting a lot of pressure on the Meridian defense with their aggressive offense. Leyton kept clawing back and narrowing the lead, only to have Meridian string together a series of points and build the lead back up. Riley Jones and Ella Haley stood out, with timely kills to keep Leyton in the set. Leyton tied up the set at 18-to-18, then the teams traded points, until Leyton pulled away for the 25-to-23 victory.

The girls came out for the fifth set with smiles and confidence, having stolen all the momentum from Meridian and were now riding a wave of their own. After dropping the first point, Leyton went on a run and opened an 11-to-3 lead. Macey Roelle took over on offense and banged home the last four Leyton points to take the 15-to-4 fifth-set win for a 3-to-2 match victory. Leyton was able to take over the match when they ramped up the aggression on offense, forcing Meridian into playing defense and limiting their big swingers and front-line hitters. Shawnee Gamble led with 19 kills, followed by Macey Roelle with 15 kills in the win.

A four set semifinal victory over Central Valley Friday, set up a Saturday morning championship match with the Shelton Lady Bulldogs. Shelton was the number three seed and earned their place in the finals by defeating last year's champion Overton in straight sets. Shelton started strong, opening a 6-to-1 lead before Leyton called a time-out. Leyton tried to claw back, but Shelton's big hitters Erin Gegg and Jayln Branson were too much for the Lady Warriors as they drove the ball home with floorboard-buckling spikes. The Shelton girls continued to pull away, but then Leyton started to match their points in the later part of the set. The deficit was too big to overcome, and Shelton took the first set 25-to-18. The second set was a reversal of the first to start, with Leyton opening a 4-to-0 lead before Shelton came back to tie at 4-to-4. Each team went on runs in this set, but the Shelton girls were able to outscore the Leyton girls with their offensive runs. Leyton charged back near the end of the set, and forced extra points, but still fell by a final of 26-to-24. The third set did not go as well for Leyton as Shelton pulled away early and kept scoring against the Lady Warriors. The Leyton girls had some bright spots, but the Shelton team was just too much for them on this day, and Leyton fell 25-to-16 in the third set, giving Shelton the title, and the Leyton girls settling for runner-up honors.

Leyton's historic season ended with a loss, but that did not overshadow the incredible achievement of this group of hard-working girls. They tore through the season, compiling a 33-and-0 record, then hit the state tournament. In the first round, they pulled off a reverse sweep against a tough Meridian team and then powered past another strong team in Central Valley. Although they came up short against the high-powered Shelton team, the girls gave it their all and have earned the accolades given to them, and have a season to remember for the rest of their lives. The entire Leyton community was buzzing with excitement over their volleyball team all season and will reflect on their great accomplishments for years to come.