Lady Bulldogs drop two at 3A West Regional

The Lovell Lady Bulldogs made a quick exit from the 3A West Regional Volleyball Tournament in Lander last weekend, but not without a fight, head coach Stormy Jameson said.

The third seed from the Northwest Conference, the Lady Bulldogs faced Southwest second seed Lyman in the first round Friday at the Lander Valley High School Fieldhouse. Lyman won in three sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-16.

With the loss, Lovell faced an elimination match against host Lander Saturday morning, and the hometown Lady Tigers prevailed 25-22, 25-18, 25-14.

Jameson said her team put up a fight against Lyman Friday.

“After scouting Lyman’s game film, I thought we had a really good game plan to expose some of their weaknesses and ways we could be the most successful against them,” she said. “I think the girls did a pretty decent job doing things we asked them to do, and it was one of our better all-around games we have played the last half of the season. Each girl on the court made positive contributions to the game and kept our offense balanced. Lyman is a good team, and they were just able to capitalize on our mistakes and execute when they needed.

“Especially during the second set, I was really proud of how competitive we stayed throughout. We didn’t let one or two plays dictate too many future points, and because of that, we gave ourselves a chance at the end that could have gone either way. We had girls make some big time plays down that stretch on defense, blocking at the net and hitting at the net. It proved that we did have the potential to compete and beat these good 3A teams, and I just wish we had been able to do that consistently.”

The second set was “especially good and exciting,” Jameson said. Down 12-10, the Lady Bulldogs stayed close with kids by Kennadee Owens and Libby Mickelson. Trailing 15-12, Lovel won a key point as described by Jameson:

“(Kira) Collins came in to serve, then got a hard dig by Lyman’s all-state outside hitter (Eldridge) down the line. We scramble and get a hustle play over the net, then Libby and Summer (Teter) end the point on a hard stuffed block that hit the ground on Lyman’s side -- 15-13.”

A Teter kill and Collins ace tied the score 15-15, but a long rally win and ace put Lyman up 17-15. Another Teter kill and ace by Breeah Jones tie the score 17-17, and the set is then tied at 18 and 19, but a Raegan May kill and Lyman serving error put Lovell up 21-19.

A win was not in the cards, however. Lyman tied the score 21-21 and went on to win 25-22.

Game statistics:

Chaylee Betancourt -- 1 kill, 11 assists, 100% serving, 12 digs;

Libby Mickelson -- 9 kills, 2.22 passing rate, 5 digs, 1 block;

Raegan May -- 5 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 92% serving, 5 digs;

Breeah Jones -- 2 kills, 5 assists, 1 ace, 2.0 passing rate, 5 digs;

Kira Collins -- 6 assists, 1 ace, 100% serving, 2.6 passing rate, 8 digs;

Kennadee Owens -- 6 kills, 2 assists, 2 digs;

Summer Teter -- 6 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 1.72 passing rate, 8 digs, 1 block.

Lander game

The Lady Bulldogs came rallied to make a game of the first set Saturday morning against Lander. Trailing 17-9, Lovell scored five straight points to trail 17-14 in a rally that included two kills by Owens.

Lander scored four straight points to lead 21-14, then 22-15, but the never-say-die Lady Bulldogs scored six of the next seven points to trail 23-21. Lovell points included a kill down the line by Mickelson, Jones ace and a Teter kill after a block by Teter and Chaylee Betancourt. A solo stuffed block by Betancourt and a Teter kill brought Lovell close at 23-21, and after a Lander kill, another solo block by Betancourt kept Lovell close at 24-22, only to see Lander score the final point to win the set.

“We got down early in the set, and it felt like we were always trying to dig ourselves out of the hole,” Jameson said. “I don’t feel like Lander earned very many points because we gave a majority to them with our hitting and serving errors that cost us in the end.”

The Lady Bulldogs again dug themselves a hole in the second set, trailing 9-3 before three kills by May cut the Lander lead to 9-6. Lovell then stayed close at 13-11 on a Jones kill and some Lander errors. Lander went on a run to lead 21-13, but the Lady Bulldogs scored four of the next five points to trail 22-17 on a block by Mickelson, an ace by Jones and kills by Mickelson and May. Lander went on to win, however, 25-18.

The Lady Bulldogs appeared to run out of steam and intensity in the third set as they got down 17-9. Two kills by May and kills by Owens and Mickelson, plus an ace by Collins, helped Lovell stay in the set, but Lander went on to win 25-14.

Game statistics:

Chaylee Betancourt -- 1 kill, 22 assists, 1 ace, 100% serving, 5 digs, 2 blocks;

Libby Mickelson -- 8 kills, 91% serving, 7 digs, 2 blocks, 2.18 passing rate;

Raegan May -- 10 kills, 1 assist, 89% passing percentage, 4 digs, 1 block;

Breeah Jones -- 2 kills, 1 assist, 2 aces, 100% serving, 10 digs, 2 blocks;

Kira Collins -- 4 assists, 1 ace, 13 digs;

Kennadee Owens -- 6 kills, 2 assists, 1 dig, 1 block;

Summer Teter -- 5 kills, 94% passing percentage, 11 digs, 1.76 passing rate, 4 blocks.