Lady Bulldogs drop conference match in Powell

The Lovell High School volleyball team traveled to Powell last Thursday evening in a 3A Northwest conference match-up.

The Lady Bulldogs competed hard but unfortunately fell short in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21 and 25-21.

Lovell struggled putting the ball down on Powell’s side of the court and only tallied 24 kills on the night to Powell’s 35, which proved to be the difference.

Due to the energy levels and results throughout the match, head coach Tera Kostelecky made some lineup adjustments hoping for a better outcome.

“Jenna (Hessenthaler) and Brooklin (Clark) stepped into some big shoes to fill and did it very well,” she said. “It was exciting to see them be successful.”

Kostelecky noted that, although her team is loaded with hitters, it’s nice to know that the depth of her bench gives her confidence to make changes when needed.

“Those girls brought energy to the floor that we certainly needed when needing to come back from such a large deficit,” Kostelecky said.

Off the bench, Hessenthaler and Clark both had two quick kills apiece on just three and four attempts each.

Sophomore Celeste Lindsay still led Lovell with six kills and a block, although her hitting percentage was unusually low in the match compared to her norm on the season.

Seniors Kennadee Owens and Chaylee Betancourt both had four kills at the net, while Raegan May had three herself and eight digs.

Libby Mickelson ended with two kills, nine digs and a block, and Breeah Jones had one kill and one block.

With hitters having a harder time getting kills, setters Kira Collins and Kenadee Rael only had seven assists each, while Collins also contributed two aces and five digs and Rael had one ace and six digs.

Libero Kindle Collins led the Lady Bulldogs’ defensive effort with a total of 12 digs and added an ace from the service line.

“I still feel like we outplayed them (Powell) but just had too many mental errors,” Kostelecky said.

The junior varsity won their first set against the Lady Panthers 25-21 before falling in set two, 25-20.

In the deciding third set, the Lady Bulldogs JV squad rallied back to remain undefeated on the season with a 25-22 victory.

The Lovell freshman team continued their dominance with another 25-17, 25-17 win in straight sets at Powell.

CONFERENCE DUALS

 “We are going to focus on getting back into our rhythm and having confidence to find ways to win this week heading into conference duals in Pinedale this weekend,” Kostelecky said.

The Lady Bulldogs JV and varsity teams will make the long haul to Pinedale this Friday and Saturday to face opponents from the 3A Southwest that will make up the other half of teams that will be at the regional tournament, which is readily approaching.

Games will begin at noon on Friday with Lovell paired up against Pinedale first and then Lander that evening at 6 p.m.

On Saturday at 9 a.m. the Lady Bulldogs face Mountain View, then turn around and go against Lyman at noon to wrap up the weekend.

Varsity games will be best three-out-of-five sets in normal format, while junior varsity matches will be two-out-of-three.

“These games will have a role in our regional seeding, and we need to get some wins under our belt,” Kostelecky said

FROSH

On Tuesday evening, the ninth grade Lady Bulldogs hosted the Greybull Lady Buffs in Johnny Winterholler Gymnasium.

With their perfect streak on the line, they remained undefeated by winning in straight sets, 25-20 and 25-11.

“These girls continue to work hard and find ways to dominate on the court together,” coach Angie Hitz said. “We look to approach the remainder of the season better than ever.”