Lady Bulldogs wrap up Homecoming with pair of wins

Homecoming week brought the Big Horn Rams and Kaycee Buckaroos to town for the Sundance Lady Bulldogs volleyball team. Two nights of volleyball added two more wins to the Lady Bulldogs record and brought their regular season to a close.

Starting out against Big Horn on Friday afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs had some hard-hitting competition. Although neither side could string much together for consecutive points in the first set, the play at the net kept the audience’s attention with Ty Holloman and Sherri Negaard leading the way for the Bulldogs with 14 and 12 kills respectively. Taking the 25-17 victory, the Bulldogs moved into set two up one game to none.

The second set kept everyone on their toes. As the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, a few net serves brought allowed the Rams to catch back up.

A back and forth of points after that kept the teams neck-and-neck. Tied at 13, both teams suffered some miscommunication on the floor, but it was the Bulldogs who righted their ship first with Sherri Negaard slamming down a kill to show the Rams this wasn’t going to be easy.

The Rams, however, were right there with some hard hitters of their own, and took the 19-18 lead shortly thereafter. A great volley by both sides, tied the score again at 19 and from there on out it was a fight to the finish.

A close call on the line, gave Big Horn a 24-22 lead, but they were unable to gain the point necessary to secure a finish. The Lady Bulldogs regained the lead after a 25-25 tie and it was a hit for hit until a big kill by Ty Holloman gave the Bulldogs a 29-27 victory.

“I was super proud of how they fought from behind to win in set two. They displayed amazing calm and control in those high-pressure moments,” Coach Blasczyk commented.

The Bulldogs were riding high, going into the third set. Exchanging point for point to start, the Bulldogs then went on a 7-0 run by finding the right spots on the floor and putting their hits just out of reach of the Rams, forcing them to scramble on offense. While Big Horn would mount a slight comeback, it would not be enough and the Bulldogs would take the25-17 victory and the 3-0 sweep.

On a cold and blustery Saturday night, the Bulldogs were back on the court and up against the Kaycee Buckaroos. With the weather working against them, the teams decided to play the best two out of three games.

Another night of hard hitting put the Bulldogs out front to start. Down by three, the Buckaroos called a timeout to make some adjustments for the fierce hitting of the Bulldogs.

Putting two, and sometimes three, blockers against the hard hits of Sherri Negaard and Ty Holloman, the Buckaroos were able to stay close to the Bulldogs throughout the game. In the end, the Bulldogs reached 25 first, taking set number one.

Set number two against the Buckaroos had the Bulldogs finding the holes on the floor. Behind the serving of Ty Holloman and Baillee Heaster, the Bulldogs took an 11-5 lead early. The Buckaroos, however, called a timeout, and the tides began to turn.

As the Buckaroos started to get some lucky falls, the gap began to close and the Bulldogs found themselves up only by two 21-19. Simple mistakes closed the gap even more and the Bulldogs were needing a timeout with the score 24-23. A quick timeout brought the Bulldogs back into the game and they were able to get the job done, scoring one more point and taking the 25-23 victory. 

Ending their season 15-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference, the Lady Bulldogs will host the 2A Northeast District Tournament on Thursday. The Bulldogs will play in the opening match against the Wright Panthers with the first serve at 2 p.m. The Big Horn Rams will face the Moorcroft Wolves at 4:30 and the championship round will be at 7 p.m.

SHS vs. Big Horn – 25-12, 29-27, 25-17

Aftyn Marchant – 27 serve receives, 9 digs

Nevada Gill – 6 digs

Sherry Negaard – 12 kills, 2 aces, 1 block

Baillee Heaster – 3 aces, 6 digs, 1 kill, 16 assists

Ty Holloman – 3 aces, 14 kills, 1 block

Cana McInerney – 1 ace, 4 digs, 6 kills, 21 assists

Bailey Hofland – 4 kills, 2 blocks

Brook Hofland – 6 kills, 1 block

Briska Johnson – 4 digs

SHS vs. Kaycee – 25-20, 25-23

Aftyn Marchant – 18 serve receives, 9 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill

Nevada Gill – 11 receives, 7 digs

Sherry Negaard – 1 ace, 4 digs, 6 kills, 1 block

Baillee Heaster – 7 digs, 8 assists

Ty Holloman – 1 ace, 3 digs, 11 kills, 4 blocks

Cana McInerney – 3 aces, 3 digs, 16 assists, 1 kill

Bailey Hofland – 3 kills, 2 blocks

Brook Hofland – 4 kills, 1 block

Briska Johnson – 5 digs