Lady Bulldogs ground Eagles

The Sundance volleyball team split their competitions this week, taking a victory over the Tongue River Eagles and falling to the Hulett Red Devils.

It was an evenly matched competition on Tuesday night as Sundance hosted the Hulett Red Devils for a friendly intra-county competition. The teams were back and forth with points, feeling out each other's offensive attacks and coming up with some defensive stops.

Midway through game one, Sundance was able to get a string of five points, behind the serving of Jaylin Mills, and take a slight advantage over the Lady Devils. The Bulldogs were able to maintain their lead and take a 25-21 victory in game one.

The Hulett Red Devils had a strong presence at the net throughout game two with Jessee Driskill and Myah Cornett raining down some hard hits to the Lady Bulldogs. Sundance was unable to adjust and Hulett took the victory in game two.

Making some changes between games two and three, the Lady Bulldogs were able to bring the momentum back into their favor and take a narrow 25-23 win in game three. Game four brought the Red Devils right back as Kaydence Westover and McKenna Kromarek fueled the Hulett offense with their solid serving, giving the Red Devils a commanding 25-17 win and pushing a game five.

The Red Devils kept the momentum going throughout game five as the Lady Bulldogs struggled to adjust and put points on the board. In the end, the Lady Red Devils took a 3-2 match victory over the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Bulldogs were back on the floor on Friday afternoon as they traveled to Tongue River to face the Eagles. It was a slow start for the Sundance team, who fell 12-25 in game one for the night, but the Lady Bulldogs were able to right their ship, taking games two and three and push another match into a five-game set.

Determined to leave with a win, the Lady Bulldogs pulled together and took a 15-8 win in game five, giving them the overall 3-2 victory over the Lady Eagles.

"We had a tough game against Hulett on Tuesday where we struggled to pass and create an aggressive offense on our side of the net," Coach Blasczyk commented.

"After working on being more aggressive all week we were able to beat Tongue River on Friday in five sets. The girls played really well together, overall they passed better, and were able to create kills by finding holes in Tongue River's defense. Lexie Marchant had a team and season high of 21 kills against Tongue River."

The Sundance Lady Bulldogs currently have a 10-8-2 record and will be on the road for this week's competitions.

"This week we play Newcastle and Big Horn. Both teams have quick offenses and a big block so we will be challenged to continue being aggressive while facing these obstacles but it will be a great experience for this team," stated Blasczyk.

The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Newcastle on Friday and Big Horn on Saturday.

Stats

SHS vs. Hulett – 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 9-15:

Rachelle Miller – 15 assists, 2 aces, 2 digs

Jaylin Mills – 17 assists, 5 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces, 6 digs

McKaya Gillespie – 8 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs

Zoe Skeens – 6 kills, 21 digs

Lexie Marchant – 9 kills, 6 blocks, 7 digs

Aspen Jones – 1 dig, 1 assist, 1 block, 6 digs

Sydney Penning – 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 digs

Maddie Straub – 1 ace, 2 digs

Shannon Gilmartin – 1 ace, 1 dig

Hailey Karol – 1 kill

SHS vs. Tongue River – 12-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 15-8:

Rachelle Miller – 7 assists

Jaylin Mills – 32 assists, 4 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 4 digs

McKaya Gillespie – 8 kills, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 aces, 1 dig

Zoe Skeens – 5 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 5 digs

Lexie Marchant – 21 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs

Aspen Jones – 3 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs

Sydney Penning – 3 kills