Lady Bulldog netters pick up two conference wins

The Lovell High School volleyball squad picked up some big conference wins this weekend by defeating Riverside Friday and Greybull Saturday at Johnny Winterholler Gymnasium.Friday, the Lady Bulldogs swept the Riverside Lady Rebels 25-15, 25-16 and 25-7 at home.“I told the girls to come out and play their game and to set the pace in both Riverside and Greybull and they did just that,” coach Kisha McArthur said.Stats from the Riverside match include: Trysa Flood, six kills, 94 percent serving, one ace, seven digs; Madyson Jones, two kills, two blocks; Samantha Newman, four kills, two aces, 5 blocks, three digs; Kendra Price, four kills, 93 percent serving, one ace, two blocks, one dig; Mallory Smith, one kill, one dig; Shelby Wardell, one kill, 18 assists, 100 percent serving, five aces, three blocks, three digs; Mandi Jo Baxendale, three kills, 100 percent serving, two aces, eight digs; Kendre Kidgell, 100 percent serving, one ace, 1.5 serve/receive average, three digs; Mikkel McIntosh, 100 percent serving, 2.2 serve/receive average, 15 digs.[caption id="attachment_11743" align="alignright" width="194"] Lovell High School senior Kendra Price spikes the ball past a Greybull blocker during Lovell’s 3-2 win over Greybull Saturday as Mikkel McIntosh looks on.
Sam Smith photo[/caption]GREYBULLSaturday, Lovell defeated the Greybull Lady Buffs in a five-game battle at Johnny Winterholler Gymnasium.Lovell won game one 25-21 and won a close game two 27-25 to take an early 2-0 match lead going into game three.The visitors from Greybull came back to win game three 25-23 and game four 25-20 to tie the match up at two apiece going into a deciding game five.In game five, Lovell defeated the Buffs 15-7 to win the game and the match.“It was a fun intense game,” McArthur said. “When they lost that eight-point lead in the fourth set, I told them, ‘Do you want to win this match? Then you need to go out and take it,’ and that’s what they did in the fifth game.“That was an important win for us in terms of seeding in the regional tournament. It was a must-win for us.”Stats from the Greybull match include: Trysa Flood, 11 kills, 100 percent serving, 26 digs; Jones, nine kills, three blocks, two digs; Newman, three kills, two blocks, five digs; Price, five kills, 93 percent serving, two aces, two blocks, two digs; Wardell, 45 assists, 90 percent serving, three aces, 2.5 blocks, 13 digs; Kidgell, 100 percent serving, one ace, 2.2 serve/receive average, seven digs; McIntosh, 100 percent serving, one ace, 2.4 serve/receive average, 39 digs; Baxendale, 22 kills, one ace, 1.5 blocks, 17 digs.JUNIOR VARSITYThe Lady Bulldog JVs defeated Riverside 25-14, 25-23 Friday at home and defeated Greybull 25-23, 14-25, 26-24, Saturday in Lovell.FRESHMENOn Friday, the Lovell freshman volleyball squad defeated Riverside 25-18, 20-25, 25-12, but fell to Greybull 25-27, 25-19, 25-18 Saturday, at home.“Our team came out ready to play on Friday,” coach Kristin Owens said. “They showed enthusiasm on and off the court and our communication was the best it’s ever been.“Saturday we really struggled with our serves so it’s hard to come away with a win. We have a full week of practice to gear up for Rocky this weekend.”The Lady Bulldog netters will host Rocky Mountain on Saturday for a conference match with freshmen playing at 4, JV at 5 and varsity at 6 p.m.“It’s another must-win for us so we’ve got to again set the pace,” McArthur said. “Rocky is a good team. We’ve got to cometo play.”

By Sam Smith