Lady Bulldog netters battle strong at always tough conference duals
The Lovell Lady Bulldogs got an early peek at the regional tournament over the weekend when they played in the 3A West Conference Duals tournament hosted this year by Pinedale.
The Lovell netters won one of four matches, dropping a pair to Pinedale and Lander Friday, then splitting with Mountain View and Lyman on Saturday.
Host Pinedale stopped the Lady Bulldogs 18-25, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-11 in Lovell’s first match Friday, then fell to Lander 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17.
“The first day was tough,” coach Tera Kostelecky said. “We were up early and faced Pinedale first. We took them to four sets but didn’t pull a win. We were able to rest a short amount before we faced Lander. We had a lot of hitting errors, and our mental focus was missing — again, four sets.
I am super proud of Raegan (May) as she has the never-quit attitude and stayed positive the entire weekend. She’s had a heart change, and it’s visible.”
After a good night’s sleep, the Lady Bulldogs played much better on Saturday. They stopped Mountain View in a nail-biter, 21-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23, then fell to Lyman 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21.
“Saturday, we faced Mountain View first thing,” Kostelecky said. “It was so much fun to see the girls beat them. They have been a tough opponent since I have been in Lovell. That was the highlight of our weekend.
“We were able to put more kids in and see our serve receive play a big role in our offense. This carried over into our Lyman match. We have beat them in the past. Even
though the scoreboard didn’t show a win in another four sets, I consider it a win. Our team came alive, and our blocking was incredible. We had them out of sync the majority of the match.”
The Lady Bulldogs will return to 2A Northwest conference play this weekend, traveling to Cody Thursday for matches at 4, 5 and 6 p.m., then hosting Worland Friday at 4, 5 and 6 p.m., as well. The team hosts Powell October 24 and is looking forward to the 3A West Regionals in Powell November 1-2.
“The important thing is, we are still climbing,” Kostelecky said, “and this is what we need moving into the next few weeks. We are still growing. We will be set up to peak at the right time. I’m proud of the team at 9-12. They have shown great leadership, and from the top down and the bottom up the desire and fight to win is evident.
“We are all learning from each other. We are all a family, and the support for one another is irreplaceable. That’s how I know we will continue to see success. All three of the (remaining) regular season matches will be physically and emotionally tough. We are almost there.”
Rocky Mountain
The Lady Grizzly varsity has been off since October 8 and will return to conference action this weekend after freshman matches Monday and Tuesday. Rocky will travel to Greybull Friday for matches at 5 and 6 p.m., then host Shoshoni Saturday at 1 and 2 p.m.
“It’s a huge game for us Friday against Greybull,” coach Stephanie Ames said. “We need to go in on fire and beat them on their home floor. We’d like some redemption after they beat us at home in five close games. They’re our only conference loss, and we’re hungry for the W. We’ve played them and watched film and are making adjustments to our hitting and blocking to try to come out on top.
“Saturday, we host Shoshoni in another conference game. It’s a big conference weekend for us. We’re looking forward to playing after a
long string of days without a game.”