Lovell High School netters struggle in loss to Powell

The LHS volleyball squad struggled for the second consecutive conference match Thursday at home, falling in three straight sets to Powell.

The Lady Bulldogs dropped the varsity match 25-11, 25-12, 25-21.

Lovell trailed 12-0 in the first set despite a pair of time outs called by coach Stormy Jameson. After Powell served a ball into the net, the Lady Panthers scored three more points to lead 15-1 until Lovell junior Libby Mickelson broke the ice with a kill. Powell went up 18-2, but Lovell scored two straight to trail 18-4, Kira Collins serving an ace on the fourth point.

Trailing 21-5, Lovell scored five consecutive points to trail 21-10, but Powell went on to win 25-11.

“We couldn’t have gotten out to a worse start, and unfortunately, it set the tone for the rest of the game that we couldn’t snap out of,” Jameson said. “It’s one thing for a team to go on a three- or four-point run throughout the match, but we got stuck in that first rotation 12 straight points before Powell finally missed a serve and we got a side out.”

Lovell hung tough in the second set, trailing 12-8, but Powell outscored the Lady Bulldogs 13-4 the rest of the set to win 25-12.

The Lady Bulldogs came out strong in the third set and led 5-1 following a Summer Teter kill and a Mickelson tip. The match was tied 6-6, 7-7 and 10-10 before Lovell scored four straight to lead 14-10. Lovell held onto the lead until Powell tied the score 17-17 and then took the lead. Lovell fought back to knot the score 21-21 a few points later. Powell scored the final four points to win the set 25-21 and take the match 3-0.

“As a team, we had more hitting errors than we had kills, and you simply can’t win with that statistic,” Jameson said. “We are at a point in the season where we should be moving toward our peak, but instead we’re stuck in a slump. I feel like we have lost some of our fire and energy, and that is what we will focus on the most as we head into the Conference Duals this weekend.”

Stats from Thursday:

Libby Mickelson- 4 kills, 9 digs, 1 ace; Raegan May-4 kills, 3 digs; Summer Teter-1 kill, 1 dig; Breeah Jones-3 kills, 1 block, 1 dig; Kennadee Owens-3 kills, 2 assists, 2 digs; Chaylee Betancourt-4 kills, 1 block; Kenadee Rael-21 digs; Krysta McIntosh-7 assists, 3 digs, 2 aces; Kira Collins-9 assists, 1 dig, 1 ace; Jenna Hessenthaler-1 kill, 3 digs.

Lovell won the junior varsity 1 match 25-20, 25-22.

“I think the girls thrive in a competitive environment, and we are seeing the court really well and putting the ball where it needs to be,” coach Jennifer Hessenthaler said. “I am proud of the team for digging deep and taking care of business.”

Lovell won the JV2 match 25-19, 19-25, 25-19.

“The JV2 team is really starting to find a rhythm, and when we cut out some of our own mistakes, we have been a hard team to beat,” coach Angie Hitz said.

The Lovell JV2 team beat Burlington Tuesday in Burlington 12-25, 25-13, 25-15.

Powell for Duals

The Lady Bulldogs will make the short trip to Powell this weekend for the 3A West Conference Duals.

Friday, Lovell will meet Mountain View at 3 p.m. in the PHS main gym, then play Pinedale at 6 p.m. in the same facility. Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs will battle Lander in the main gym at 9 a.m. and meet Lyman at noon in the auxiliary gym.

Lovell will host Thermopolis next Thursday, Oct. 12, for Senior Night.