Lady Bulldogs still off to good start

The Lovell Lady Bulldogs volleyball team has improved to 5-1 to start the season with another win in Columbus, Montana, over the weekend.

Lovell came out strong Saturday and won the first two sets 25-15 and 25-21 and looked poised to sweep the competition, but Columbus answered back to take the third set 25-18.

The fourth set looked like it could go either way before the Lady Bulldogs finally sealed the victory by taking the set 27-25.

Sophomore Celeste Lindsay continues to look strong at the net, leading the Lady Bulldogs with nine kills and a block in the match.

Senior Raegan May also added eight kills and had six aces from behind the service line.

Senior Libby Mickelson had seven kills and an ace, Breeah Jones ended with five kills and four blocks, Chaylee Betancourt also tallied six kills and five blocks, while Kennadee Owens had three kills, three blocks and an ace.

The team’s defense looked strong with Kindle Collins anchoring the back row as libero, even though no statistics were calculated for digs or assists in the match.

Primary setter Kira Collins suffered an ankle injury early in the third set that forced adjustments to Lovell’s rotation, but she was still able to compile five aces prior to leaving the game.

“We had talked about the word ‘tenacity’ before the game and what it means on the court, and I think the girls really displayed that during the game,” head coach Tera Kostelecky said.

“Our goal is to continue climbing, fighting the setbacks when they come, then continuing the climb,” she added. “These girls are quick learners and intellectual among their athleticism.”

Kostelecky noted that at one point during the third set (after the injury) she was left with no timeouts and the team was down 17-2 before fighting back to 25-18, and that gave them confidence and showed mental toughness heading into the fourth set.

COMING UP

The junior varsity and varsity Lady Bulldogs head to Rawlins to compete in the Rawlins “Sandy Jebens” Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

For pool play on Friday, both squads will play two sets to 21 points against Douglas, Lander and Torrington before being seeded into bracket play on Saturday.

All 3A schools will be represented at the tournament, and Kostelecky looks forward to seeing where her squad measures up.

“This is a competitive tournament, and I’m excited to see how much we have grown so far this season both mentally and physically,” she said.

This week, the program will focus on improving communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and fine-tuning simple position responsibilities heading into the weekend.

After that, all three Lady Bulldog teams will travel to Thermopolis on Tuesday for games scheduled to begin at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.

JV AND FROSH

The junior varsity Lady Bulldogs battled tight with Columbus after losing the first set 25-22, edging out the 26-24 win in set two, dropping the third set 15-12, then winning the final two sets 15-7 and 15-8.

“Both of the JV and varsity teams will be spread pretty thin in Rawlins due to a few minor injuries,” Coach Kostelecky said.

The Lady Bulldog freshman squad has yet to surrender a set after sweeping Greybull 25-3, 25-10 and 15-1 last Thursday and then Columbus 25-19, 25-14 and 15-5 on Saturday.

They head to Buffalo Saturday to face Sheridan, Thermopolis and Douglas.