Lady Bobcats show their claws against Alberton

Nick Ianniello

Mineral Independent

The Superior Lady Bobcats suited up for the first time Friday for their first game of the season against the Valley Christian Lady Eagles and took home a win.

“I was really pleased with their performance for the first game,” said head coach Dianne Woodard.

The first game of the night for the varsity team started off with a solid victory for the Lady Bobcats. They took an early 5 – 2 lead in the game and did not let up. The Lady Bobcats finished their first game with a 25 – 17 win and did not lose their lead the entire game.

On their next game the Lady Eagles proved that they were not to be taken for granted by taking an early 5 – 1 lead and holding onto it for much of the game. The Lady Bobcats managed to come back and tie things up at 10 points but the Lady Eagles later managed to score eight points without losing the serve and gained a 22 – 12 lead over the Lady Bobcats. The Lady Eagles won the game with a final score of 25 – 16.

The next game was a nail-biter with neither team managing to get a lead of more than a few points. The Lady Bobcats finally came out on top after fighting tooth and nail to get a score of 26 – 24.

The final game of the evening started off neck and neck until the lady Bobcats managed to pull a 13 – 6 lead over the Lady Eagles. They held onto their lead for the rest of the game and finished up with a 25 – 19 victory for the game and 3 – 1 victory for the match.

Woodard said that the evening’s win was particularly big for them because they lost to the Lady Eagles last year.

She added that it is always good to start the year off with a win to build the team’s confidence.

“The team did very well overall. My setters were getting the ball into the right places and we had several girls hitting well so I was very pleased,” Woodard said.

Senior Alex Conrow lead the team in team assists with 21 overall. Senior Sami Woodard was the team leader for kills with 28. Caitlin Bailey and Sami Woodard tied for the most digs with 18 each. Tara Bauer led the team in both aces and blocks with 18 aces and 9 blocks.

After their first game Diane Woodard said that she thinks the team can look forward to a strong season.

“We’re going to work on our passing, I can see that that needs a little work, but other than that I’m pretty pleased,” Woodard said.

The Junior Varsity Lady Bobcats also won their first game of the season.

They lost their first game 30 – 28 but came back to win their next three 25 – 18, 15 – 12 and 15 – 14.

Woodard said that the evening was a great way for the junior varsity team to start off their season as well.

“They did pretty good as well. I think tonight did a lot to get those jitters out their system,” Woodard said.