Senior Girls volleyball : Raiders edge Dragons, Cobras defeat Hawks

Raiders win nailbiter against Dragons

Corrected for Accuracy

Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

Dragons #14 Rebecca Lowry whomps one over the net
T. Lucas photos and video

St. Michael's Senior Girls Dragons volleyball team hosted  J.T. Foster's Raiders at the Dale Wentz Memorial Gym on October 21.  It turned out to be a nail-biting close game had to go for five sets to determine the best 3 out of 5.  It also went to extra points in two of the sets because the teams are so evenly matched.

Things started off rocky for the Raiders.  They had transportation issues that delayed the game by an hour while they arranged for a different bus.

Beware the mighty spike of Dragons #19 Josie Naumczyk!

Once the game was underway, it was easy to see that both of these teams were here to play, and to win.  There were some outstanding plays, on both sides of the net.  Dragons #19 Josie Naumczyk had members of the Raiders talking to each other about her power hitting skills when she was serving or getting ready to spike.   Evans was consistent with in her serving.  This is a team that has a lot of heavy hitting talent.  Woodard, Lowry, and Parkin are all in there doing their best for their team.

The Raiders hosted a good line up of talent as well.  Waiters did an excellent job of setting up shots for her team mates, and Hill had  some very strong serves.  Both teams had good communication, and each player had a good understanding of the court and an awareness of the position that they were playing.

The first two sets went to the Dragons with scores of 25 - 20 and 25 - 21.   This made it look as if the Dragons would easily win the match.

Things changed in the third set.  The Dragons were quickly outpaced by the Raiders, and the Raiders pushed that advantage ending  the score of the set 15 - 25 for their favor.

The fourth set the Dragons worked the court to try and gain the set.  Coming up for behind, the Dragons were positioned 22 - 24 and they closed the gap and surged ahead bringing the points a 25 - 25 tie score.  One team had to make two points in a row to be declared a winner and this set went to 27 - 25.  The set was won by the Raiders, leading us into the fifth and final set of the evening.

This match deciding set was to go to the first team to take it to 15 points, with a minimum of a two point lead.

Again this final set was hard won.  The Raiders were ahead early on, then the Dragons surpassed them to be ahead 14 - 12.

The Raiders had to work hard to keep in the game, and tied the score 14 - 14.  From there on it was a back and forth run for the win.  One team would score a point, then the other, each doing their best to achieve that 2 point lead and the set, and the match. The Raiders ultimately won it 19-17.

Claresholm Cobras defeat Halton Hawks

Senior Hawks vs Cobras
C. Davis photos and video

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice, with help from Gloria Barbero

Matthew Halton School's Senior Hawks Girls volleyball team hosted Claresholm's JV and Senior Girls Cobras at the Halton gym on Monday evening, October 21.  Due to having senior players on their team the Hawks automatically forfeited the JV match but played it anyway.

The JV Cobras proved to be solid opponents, gaining a significant lead in the first set until the Hawks pulled it together, scoring multiple times in a row to tie it up at 24-24 before ultimately winning it 26-24.  The second set was very close throughout, with the score tied multiple times: 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, and 22-22 after a really nice volley from both sides.  The Hawks won that one too by a score of 25-23.  The Hawks moped about in the third set, perhaps saving themselves for the senior game, not a bad plan considering they had no subs on the bench for this match.  It cost them on the scoreboard though.  The JV Cobras won the set easily 25-14.

Hawks vs JV Cobras

The Hawks were in fine form for the first set of the senior match, winning it by a definitive 25-13 score.  In this set we saw what the hometown girls are capable of.  After that set they ran out of steam.  The second set of the senior match was actually their fifth set of the evening.  The Cobras established a lead early and held it until their 25-17 win. The third and fourth sets also went to the Cobras, 25-11 and 25-13, earning them a win in the best of five match.