Lady Bulldogs win over Wolves

It was senior night in Sundance on Saturday as the Lady Bulldogs took on the Wright Panthers for the final home game of the regular season. Energy on the floor was not lacking as the first serve went up for the night. Both teams were looking to maintain their winning streaks.

The Bulldogs seemed to have the advantage early in game as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead and continued to hold the Panthers by two throughout most of the match. Senior Bulldog Joleen Pollat and junior Sherry Negaard did their part in keeping the energy up for the Bulldogs as the Wright Panthers struggled to have an answer for their hard hits at the net.

With the score 16-12, in favor of the Bulldogs, the Panthers took a time out to discuss strategy. The timeout didn’t break the Bulldogs’ momentum as they went on to score four more points before the Panthers were able to answer, overcoming the Bulldogs and taking the win with a score of 25-22.

Down one game, the Bulldogs were determined to succeed in game two. Behind some tough serving from Baillee Heaster, Sundance was able to rally to a 7-4 lead. Yet Wright was just as determined, matching any lead gained by the Bulldogs.

Going up against some dangerous blockers for Wright, the Bulldogs struggled to keep their momentum going. After a quick timeout, Joleen Pollat and Teddi Marchant came up with two big blocks of their own to get the Sundance offense back in the game.

With the score 24-21 the Bulldogs were looking for the win, however Joslyn Strohschein of Wright had other plans, as she went on to serve five unanswered points and take the win for the Panthers.

The Bulldogs could not rally in game three as they started out down by four points and struggled for momentum. Stringing only a few points together at a time, the Bulldogs were no match for the tough serving of the Wright Panthers and fell in game three with a score of 14-25.

On Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs were in Moorcroft for the ever-tough intra-county rivalry. Coming off some great wins over Big Horn and Lusk last week, the Bulldogs continued their winning streak.

The first two games of the matchup were neck and neck and saw Sundance squeak out the 25-23 and 25-22 win. Joleen Pollat dominated the net spiking the ball down 13 times while Ty Holloman put a stop to Moorcroft’s hitters with six blocks on the night.

Game three continued to be close as the Wolves eked out a 28-26 win, sending the match into four games, where the Bulldogs held nothing back and ended the set with a win 25-13. Sherry Negaard, Aftyn Marchant and Baillee Heaster each went perfect on the night for serving as well as serving two aces each.

The Bulldogs will play their final game of the regular season on Friday in Big Horn before regionals begin in Moorcroft on November 1.

Stats from the game:

SHS vs. Moorcroft: 25-23, 25-22, 26-28, 25-13

Kills: J. Pollat 13, S. Negaard 7, T. Holloman 6, Br. Hofland 5

Assists: T. Marchant 16, C. McInerney 11

Blocks: T. Holloman 6, C. McInerney 4, J. Pollat 3, T. Marchant 3

Digs: C. McInerney 18, A. Marchant 19, N. Gill 10

Serves: S. Negaard 24/24 (2 aces), A. Marchant 17/17 (2 aces) B. Heaster 18/18 (2 aces), C. McInerney 14/15

SHS vs. Wright: 22-25, 24-26,14-25

Kills: S. Negaard 13, J. Pollat 7, T. Holloman 6, Br. Hofland 3

Assists: C. McInerney 16, T. Marchant 11

Blocks J. Pollat 7, T. Marchant 3, Br. Hofland 3

Digs: A. Marchant 21, N. Gill 11, C. McInerney 10, B. Heaster 10

Serves S. Negaard 11/11 (2 aces), A. Marchant 8/8 C. McInerney 7/7 (1 ace)