Lady Bulldogs take down Hill City

The Sundance Lady Bulldogs split their matches this week, taking a 3-0 victory over the Hill City Rangers and falling 0-3 to the Moorcroft Wolves. 

Opening the week with a Monday game, the Lady Bulldogs had no problem finding their rhythm in Hill City as they faced off against the Rangers.

"On Monday we played the best we've played yet this season against Hill City," head coach Chelsey Blasczyk commented. "The girls were relaxed and purely enjoying the game." 

Working under pressure, the team was able to keep their cool and pull out narrow victories in games one and three. Jaylin Mills led the charge for the Bulldogs throwing down 11 kills and popping up 15 digs for the night as the Bulldogs swept the Rangers 3-0.

Friday night brought the homecoming crowd into the stands at Sundance High School as the Lady Bulldogs took on county rival, Moorcroft Wolves.

It was a back and forth of points in the opening game as both teams were settling in and looking to gain momentum. The Moorcroft Wolves found their groove first, stringing together five points, behind the serving of Kailee Gill and taking a slight lead over the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs continued to battle, but were unable to overcome the deficit and the Wolves took a 25-22 victory in game one. 

The Bulldog offense gained some ground at the start of game two as they took the initial 3-0 lead behind the serving of McKaya Gillespie. The Wolves, however, were able to recover quickly and close the gap, making this another back and forth between the two teams.

With the score tied at 20, it was a back and forth to extra points, between the two evenly matched teams. In the end, the Lady Wolves took the 27-25 victory. 

The momentum was all Moorcroft as game three was underway. Taking the initial points, the Lady Wolves did not look back, taking a commanding 14-9 lead. The Lady Bulldogs struggled on their side to close the initial gap and eventually fell to the Lady Wolves, 18-25.

"Friday we weren't quite as relaxed since it was Homecoming against our county rivals and we were unable to gain momentum," coach Blasczyk reflected on the game. "Heading into this next week we will focus on mental fortitude as we face Tongue River and Wright. Both will be very important games for determining postseason seeding."

The Lady Bulldogs will be back in action on their home court Friday when they host the Tongue River Eagles. They will then travel to Wright on Saturday to face the Panthers. 

Stats

SHS vs. Hill City: 26-24, 25-14, 26-24

Shannon Gilmartin – 6 assists, 2 aces, 2 digs

Jaylin Mills – 11 kills, 9 assists, 1 block, 5 aces, 15 digs

McKaya Gillespie – 5 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces, 5 digs

Lexie Marchant – 6 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig

Zoe Skeens – 4 kills, 1 ace, 9 digs

Aspen Jones – 1 kill, 1 ace, 10 digs

Mazelynn Sharp – 1 ace, 3 digs

SHS vs. Moorcroft: 22-25, 25-27, 18-25

Shannon Gilmartin – 11 assists, 6 digs

Jaylin Mills – 8 kills, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 aces, 12 digs

McKaya Gillespie – 5 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs

Zoe Skeens – 11 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 4 digs

Lexie Marchant – 4 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig

Aspen Jones – 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 ace, 4 digs

Maddie Straub – 1 assist, 1 block

Sydney Penning – 1 kill, 4 assists, 1 dig

Mazelynn Sharp – 11 digs