Lady Bulldog netters split with Cody and Worland

Heading into the second to last week of the regular season, the Lovell Lady Bulldogs were looking for a couple of key conference wins as they traveled to Cody on Thursday to battle the number one ranked Fillies and then returning home for a very important match with the Worland Warriors on Friday.

The Fillies entered the match with Lovell ranked number one in Class 3A with a 20-5 overall record and undefeated at 7-0 in the 3A West Conference. Coach Tera Kostelecky said Cody would be a challenging game, noting, “We knew Cody would be our biggest competitor this year as they are a few kids shy of 4A classification. However, bigger hasn’t scared us much this season.”

The Cody match was also the Cancer Awareness Pink Game for the Fillies and attracted a large crowd for the Thursday night match with Lovell. Cody started the first set strong, jumping out to a 12-5 lead with five kills and some strong play at the net. The Lady Bulldogs settled into the set and rallied to close the score to 14-11 with a back row hit by Kenadee Rael. Then back-to-back errors by the Fillies gave Lovell its first lead in the set 17-16. Lovell held the lead at 19-18, but a kill by Cody’s Sydney Simone helped the Fillies to a 6-0 run and a 24-19 lead. Libby Mickelson turned the momentum back to Lovell with a kill making the score 24-20, and two Cody errors brought the Lady Bulldogs within two at 24-22. However, a service error by Lovell ended the first set 25-22.

The second set saw Cody race out to another big lead, 11-4, and they maintained the lead throughout the set, winning 25-14 closing it out with a kill. In the third set the Lady Bulldogs continued to show some grit as they battled Cody to an 8-8 tie early in the set and then took the lead 9-8 with strong play at the net. Lovell extended their lead to 18-15, however the Fillies closed out the set and the match with a 10-0 run, winning 25-18.

Coach Kostelecky felt the Lady Bulldogs didn’t play bad against Cody, stating “We competed with Cody just as we have competed with every team this season. We had nearly 20 kills against Cody, and as a team we served 80%, which isn’t terrible.”

Worland win

After the tough loss to the top ranked Cody the Lady Bulldogs had to turn right around and play Worland at home on Friday in another important conference match since the Warriors were one game ahead of Lovell in the conference standings. The Lady Bulldogs turned back Worland in a close and exciting match, sweeping the Warriors 25-23, 25-23 and 25-16.

“Worland was a breakthrough for the Lovell girls. For the first time since I have been in Lovell we swept a conference team with all three levels having a win,” Kostelecky said. With the win Lovell moved to 12-12 on the season and 2-7 in the 3A West Conference heading into the final week of the regular season.

The win over Worland will be a big boost mentally for the Lady Bulldogs as they host the number three ranked Powell Panthers this Thursday night at 6 p.m. Coach Kostelecky commented after the Worland match that, “We play Powell, who we have struggled with all year. We know what we need to do, and if we play like we did against Worland I believe nobody can beat us. The girls all played well at the same time in all three sets. It was remarkable to see, and the feeling they felt will be unforgettable.”

A victory over the Powell Panthers would help improve Lovell’s seeding for the 3A West Regional Volleyball Tournament that will be held at Powell High School on Friday and Saturday, November 1-2.