Lady Cyclones storm back to defeat L-FL

Andrew Towne
Posted 9/11/20

YODER – The Southeast High School volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat cross-county rival Lingle-Fort Laramie, 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-11, 15-12).

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Lady Cyclones storm back to defeat L-FL

Posted

YODER – The Southeast High School volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat cross-county rival Lingle-Fort Laramie, 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-11, 15-12).

Following the match, Lady Cyclone coach Roxanne Jolovich’s message to her team was about control and consistency.

“When we have our ups, we are pretty high. When we have our lows, we are down pretty low,” she said. “We have to work on keeping it more consistent, and that comes from controlling the ball when we have it.”

The Lady Doggers jumped out to a 4-1 advantage behind an ace serve from junior Tiah Meyer and a double hit by Southeast.

Southeast took the lead after a pair of errors from L-FL and maintained the lead until late.

The Lady Cyclones held as much as a 23-16 lead before letting it slip through their hands.

The visiting Lady Doggers scored the final nine points, including a trio of ace serves from L-FL sophomore Ashlee Hattan to cap off the set win.

In the second set, the teams traded scores until Southeast senior Becca Foos served up a trio of aces to give Southeast a 10-5 advantage.

But much like the first set, Lingle battled back and tied the set at 16. The set remained tied until L-FL senior M’Lynn Hill’s kill put the Lady Doggers in front 23-22.

Lingle went on to score two of the final three points to take a 2-0 lead.

“I think Southeast was a little disorganized the first two games,” L-FL coach Barb Clark said. “They found themselves in the third and started hitting at us a little more.”

In the third, the Lady Doggers jumped out to an 8-3 lead, forcing Southeast to use a timeout.

The L-FL lead reached as many as eight at 17-9 before the Lady Cyclones started hitting their stride.

Southeast tied the match at 21 and took a 22-21 lead on an ace serve by Southeast senior Emma Short.

They didn’t trail again for the remainder of the set.

In the fourth, neither team held more than a two-point advantage.

With the set tied at 10, Southeast forced a fifth set with a 15-1 run to tie the match at two apiece.

“If we can do what we can do, stay consistent and pass the ball like we can, there is no doubt in my mind how we can play and who we can beat,” Jolovich said.

In the deciding set, Lingle jumped out to an 8-3 lead, but like the previous two sets, the Lady Cyclones battled back and tied the set at 11.

Southeast capped off the come-from-behind victory with an ace from Foos and a kill by junior Grace Desmond.

“This was a tough deal,” Clark said. “We made a few more mistakes than they did.”

The Lady Cyclones (4-1) will have a little bit of a break before returning to action at home on Thursday, Sept. 17 against Mitchell, Neb.

“We are going to put a lot of hard work in at practice, and these girls do work hard at practice,” Jolovich said. “We just have to work on, and I keep saying it, consistency from practice and game or between sets when we play.”

First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Lady Doggers knock off Pine Bluffs, Rock River

The Lady Doggers also went 2-2 over the weekend with wins over Pine Bluffs and Rock River and losses to Hanna-Elk Mountain and Little Snake River.

On Thursday, L-FL pulled off a 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 14-25, 13-25, 15-9) road win over the Pine Bluffs Lady Hornets.

Juniors Tiah Meyer and M’Lynn Hill led the Lady Doggers with eight kills apiece, while sophomore Kamryn Rafferty added seven. Lingle tallied eight service aces, including two apiece from Hill, Baylee Skinner and senior Kaylie Rafferty. Skinner also handed out 23 assists.

The next day, the Lady Doggers headed west to Hanna were L-FL dropped matches to the Lady Miners, 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14) and Little Snake River Rattlers 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-21).

Lingle capped Friday off with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14) win over the Rock River Longhorns.

Hill and Kaylie Rafferty led the team with six kills each, while Kamryn Rafferty and sophomore Natalie Speckner had five apiece. Meyer served up three aces, and Skinner dished out 19 assists.

The Lady Doggers (3-5) are back in action at home on Friday, Sept. 18 against Glenrock. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.