Superior girls heading into divisional playoffs

The Superior Lady Bobcats took third this last weekend in districts and will play at noon on Thursday of this week. The girls are hosting volleyball divisionals for the district.

The team started off with a game against Valley Christian on Thursday. They played for a full five games, winning the match 3-2.

“It was a good game between both teams,” Coach Kinsy Cox said.

Superior and Valley Christian have played each other two other different times during the season, each claiming victory in one match. On Thursday, the Bobcats weren’t leaving the courts without a victory.

“I think my girls were hungry and they didn’t want to lose against them again,” Cox said. “My girls came out and played well.”

Kaitlynn Koke was a strong force at the net during the match with 13 kills and three blocks. Ashley Blaylock added 21 digs for Superior on defense and served 13 of Superior’s 23 aces. The girls lost the first game 22-25, but came back to win in the second 25-15. The third game went to their opponents, but the Bobcats had control of the courts in the last two games and won 25-14 and 15-11.

The girls were up against Loyola next. And though they lost, Cox felt they played their game well. She said earlier in the season that the girls needed to step up and play their game regardless of who is on the other side of the net and that is exactly what they did.

“They beat us in three games, but the girls were playing their game. I thought it went good,” Cox said.

The Lady Bobcats lost to Loyola 25-11, 25-18 and 25-7. The Bobcats were limited to only seven kills during the match while Loyola ran away with 37.

Up next in the district tournament was a loser-out game against Darby.

“We won in four games,” Cox said. “We took the first two without really any trouble and then Darby came back really fighting for it and won. In the fourth game, it was close, point for point for point. We pulled it out.”

The girls won 25-19 and 25-23 in the first two games, lost 20-25 in the third and grabbed the win in the fourth, 25-22. Next up, was a second match against Valley Christian.

“We beat them in three this time without any problems. We had a great game,” Cox said.

The Bobcats prevailed in the second game against Valley with a 27-25 win in the first game, 25-21 in the second and 25-18 in the third.

Up against Loyola again, the girls led in all three games, but Cox said Loyola came back to catch them and they played the team point for point throughout each game of the match.

“We ended up losing, but it was a really good game,” Cox said. “I’m proud of the girls for how they stepped up and realized it’s the playoff game. They gave 110 percent.”

The girls lost to Loyola 25-14, 25-15 and 25-20.The girls finished third overall and Cox said they are excited to be playing at home in the divisional tournament. They will play their first game against Eureka on Thursday.

“We haven’t played them since last year,” Cox said. “I know they lost their main girl, but when we played them last year it was a pretty good game. We’re going to watch some film and be ready.”

Cox said the girls will need to strengthen their blocking and continue to play with the “same heart and dedication.”