YODER – Led by 13 kills by Amanda Riley, the Lady Doggers swept the Lady Cyclones in Yoder, getting payback from earlier this season when Southeast swept Lingle-Fort Laramie in Lingle.
“That was amazing,” Riley said. “We knew coming into this game was going to be really hard, but we never gave up on each other. We all played really good together. We have been practicing our digging and that really helped us tonight.”
Despite the Lady Dogger win, Southeast’s Hailey Anderson started the evening off going Southeast’s way, recording three-straight kills. L-FL rallied to tie the game at 5, 6, 7, 8 and nine, before Anderson and Ellie Schmitt combined for three kills over four plays to give the Lady Cyclones a 12-10 lead.
Ashley Riley recorded a kill for the Lady Doggers to tie the game at 12, followed by back-to-back-to-back kills by Southeast’s Anderson, upping the Southeast advantage to 15-12. L-FL patiently chipped away at the Southeast lead and a solid serve by Paige Forkner tied the game at 17. An ace by Amanda Riley a few points later gave the Lady Doggers a 20-18 and they didn’t look back, scoring the next five points to seal the win, 25-18.
The second set started the same as the first, with an Anderson kill. She had two kills in the first three points, but Southeast 1-0 and 2-1 leads were the only leads for the Lady Cyclones in the set. A kill by Jordyn Gaspers gave L-FL a 6-2 lead and they held on to at least a three-point lead for a majority of the set.
With the score at 13-8, Southeast coach Roxanne Jolovich called a timeout and the Lady Cyclones rebounded with four points in a row, capped by an ace from Whitney Foos, forcing a L-FL timeout at 13-12. Southeast went on to tie the game three times, including two ties forced by kills from Ellie Schmitt. At 20-20, the Lady Doggers took control of the game, scoring five in a row, including tips from Jade Cooper and Jordan Hunt, to seal the win, 25-20.
Anderson did not score the first point of the third set, but she did score two of the first four. There were six ties in the first 14 points before the Lady Doggers started to put together a run, upping their lead to 12-9 and even further to 14-10 off back-to-back kills from Amanda Riley. Another kill by Riley gave L-FL an 18-11 lead, which tied their biggest lead of the set. Southeast trimmed the lead to five points on five separate occasions, but that was as close as the home team got, falling 25-19.
“It feels so good (to win the rivalry game),” Amanda Riley said. “It feels so good to finally beat them.”
Riley finished the night with 13 kills and six digs. Ashley Riley was second on the stat sheet in kills, with five, while also recording a team-high nine digs.
Cooper and Hunt both had solid nights in the back line, accounting for eight digs apiece. They both also had three kills and a block, while Cooper tallied up 19 assists. Gaspers and Forkner combined for two kills and 10 digs in the win.
“We played well as a team and didn’t get worried or tight when we made mistakes,” L-FL coach Barb Clark said. “Whenever we can beat Southeast, we get excited. They are a tough team and beating them was probably a highlight of our season.”
Not to be overshadowed, Anderson had a stellar night for the Lady Cyclones, accounting for 20 kills and 16 digs, both of which were team-highs. Schmitt finished her night with 11 kills, a block, four digs and a team-high 16 assists.
Just behind Schmitt in the assist category was Kassidy McClun, who finished with 10. She also accounted for a block, an ace and five digs. Whitney Foos also helped out digging, recording eight digs on the night, which she complimented with an ace and a kill. Morgan Ekwall, Macie Murphy and Kelci Lovercheck combined for 11 digs and an ace, while Kylie Carson chipped in a kill and a block.
Southeast 3, Lusk 0
Both Southeast and L-FL played Lusk at the home to close out their regular season, with the Lady Cyclones’ contest against the Lady Tigers coming on Friday for Senior Night.
The Lady Cyclones were tested in the first set but still pulled out the 25-23 win, followed by a 25-17 win in the second set. In the third set, Lusk was outmatched, falling 25-22.
Anderson again had a solid game, recording team-highs in kills, with 19, and blocks, with six. She also had six digs on the night. Schmitt complimented Anderson’s stat line with nine kills, 13 assists, eight digs and an ace. McClun also helped out in digs (nine) and assists (11), while kicking in a kill and a block.
Murphy paced the way in digs, with 11, which she paired with an ace. Lovercheck added nine digs, with Foos adding seven digs, two kills and an ace. Carson, Ekwall and Josie Anderson combined for four kills, two digs and three blocks.
The win over Lusk put the Lady Cyclones at 16-8 with a 6-2 record in the conference. Southeast locked up the No. 1 seed out of the south for the regional tournament this weekend. Their first game in Sundance comes against Upton at 9 a.m. Friday.
Lusk 3, L-FL 1
The Lady Doggers hosted Lusk on Saturday for Senior Night. They carried their momentum from the win over Southeast into the first set, winning 25-21, but the Lady Tigers took control. Lusk snagged a close win in the second set 25-23 and picked up wins in the third and fourth sets, 25-17 and 25-17.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t channel that intensity from Southeast and use it Saturday against Lusk,” Clark said.
The Lady Doggers amassed five aces, led by Larissa Mayhew, who had three on the night. Hunt and Forkner kicked in the other two. Hunt also had four kills, a block and 12 digs, while Forkner accounted for seven digs and three blocks.
Amanda and Ashley Riley topped the state sheet in kills, accounting for eight apiece. Amanda Riley led the way in both blocks, with five, and digs, with 18. Ashley Riley rounded out her stat sheet with 13 digs.
Gaspers tallied up two kills, two blocks and 15 digs in the loss, while Cooper recorded five kills, a block, 18 digs and all of L-FL’s 25 assists.
“Lusk is a great digging team and it was hard for us to find an open spot on the floor,” Clark said. “Again, we served well, but that wasn’t enough to keep us in the game.”
The Lady Doggers finished the regular season with a 15-9 record. They secured a top seed out of the southeast for the regional bracket this weekend in Wheatland. L-FL’s first game is Friday against Midwest at 9 a.m.
