Tigers trump Bobcats

It was homecoming week for both the St. Regis Lady Tigers and the Superior Lady Bobcats and it showed as they both played strong in their match at Superior Thursday night.

The Lady Tigers pulled back from losing two games in a row Thursday night to win three games in a row and take the match.

“We wanted to win in three, it just turned out to be the last three,” said Lady Tigers Head Coach Cindy Feasel.

The first game of the evening was a tight one, with each team answering the other nearly every serve. Throughout the entire game neither team managed to gain a significant lead, and the final score stood at 29 to 27 when Superior finally pulled out the two-point lead they needed to win the game.

In the second game, the Lady Bobcats stepped up and took an early 16 to 6 lead over the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers did their best to catch up to the Lady Bobcats but they left the Tigers behind as the game wore on, finally winning 25 to 12.

Things were looking grim for the Lady Tigers going into the third game of the evening and the Lady Bobcats were playing just as tough as ever. The teams answered one another point for point for most of the game and it came down which team could get the two-point lead. The score was tied at 22 to 22 when the Lady Bobcats scored two points setting themselves up for the game point. However, the Lady Tigers answered with a four point run that won them the game and set them up for the next two games of the evening.

The Lady Tigers took an early advantage of the confidence they gained in their win by gaining a 7 to 3 lead over the Lady Bobcats in the fourth game. They maintained their lead for the first half of the game until the Lady Bobcats managed to tie things up at 15 to 15. The game continued with each team's scores remaining fairly even until the Tigers took control of the ball with 21 points on the board and scored four points in a row to win the game 25 to 21.

In the final game of the evening the Lady Tigers made a strong defensive stand and kept the ball in Lady Tiger hands for most of the game. The final score for the game was 15 to 5 and the Lady Tigers won the match 3 to 2.

“They just really pulled it together as a team,” said Feasel “That's the biggest thing. The girls just came together and put it away.”

Heather Pruitt lead the Lady Tigers in kills, getting 9 of the team's 24 kills. Jocelyn Dockter and Dallas Ward tied for the most aces of the evening, both scoring 7 of the team's 22 aces. Ashley Ramsey brought in 8 of the team's 18 assists and Morgan Hill got both of the team's only two blocks of the evening.

“This is one of the most emotional teams I have ever coached and when they celebrate every single point that's what bring them back,” Lady Bobcats Head Coach Diane Woodard said. “But when they start getting down on themselves and start making little mistakes and don't adjust, that's what brings them down.”

Tara Bauer led the Lady Bobcats in kills for the evening with 10 of the team's 29 kills. Alex Conrow lead the team in assists, earning 20 of the team's 21 assists. Caitlin Bailey led the team with 6 of the team's 31 digs and 6 of the team's 19 aces. Tamara Rennick led the team in blocks getting 2 of the team's 5 blocks.

“They played fabulous for the first two games,” said Woodard. “I'm not sure anybody in the conference can touch them when they play like that and celebrate.”