Trotters keep their season alive with win

PLAINS –The Plains Trotters won the play in game Saturday to secure a spot in Florence for divisionals.

It marks the first time in five years Plains has made it districts or divisionals.

“The girls have worked hard this year,” Head Coach Kim Earhart said. “They wanted it, and they worked hard, and did not fold. I am very proud of them.”

Plains was faced with playing an opening round play in game for a spot at district and divisionals.

Earhart is proud of his team’s effort. The Trotters won 26-24, 25-19, 23-35, 19-25, 15-9 in four sets.

“Leah Thompson was the cream of the crop,” Earhart said. “But everyone was playing really well and I think the stats show it.”

The team had to reach deep and defend the hard hitting of the Lady Lions. As a team Plains had 62 digs with Kimberly Earhart and Tia Thompson combining for 34 of them.

“Eureka was hitting the ball hard,” Earhart said. “But we dug deep and were able to return a lot of their balls.”

For all the hard hitting the defense had to face, Plains was doing their fair share of hitting as well. The team combined for 37 kills in the match. L. Thompson led the way with nine of those kills, followed by Nicole Rehbein with eight, and Corle Morefield with six.

“It was a total team effort for us,” Earhart said. “We did what we had to do to win.”

The defensive effort was helped by the front row play of L. Thompson and Hailey Phillips who combined for seven blocks each.

“It you can stop their offense at the net, it is huge,” Earhart said. “They have to hit over you or around you, and that is hard to do.”

The win put the Trotters in the matchup with Thompson Falls. The Lady Hawks entered the game unbeaten and would remain that way after beating Plains 25-20, 25-22, and 25-21 in straight sets.

“I am proud of the way my girls played against Thompson,” Earhart said. “They are a good team and we played with them in all three sets. Sometimes things just don’t go your way and that was just one of those matches that didn’t.”

Thompson Falls was hitting the ball hard as Plains was able to pull 40 digs in the three-set matchup. Phillips contributed nine and Kimberly Earhart contributed eight. The whole team played a part on defense, which kept them in the match with the top-seeded Lady Hawks.

The loss put Plains in the consolation game with Troy. Plains was able to take third place with the victory of the Lady Trojans in four sets 25-22, 15-25, 25-20, 25-15.

Felicia Earhart led the team tallying all 30 of the assists for the Trotters. Kimberly Earhart and T. Thompson added 10 digs each for the Trotters.

The key stat for Earhart’s squad was the 20 aces they put up. Newcomer to the lineup, freshman Hailey Coe added 7 aces and served 14 points during the match.

The win set Plains up for the third seed at divisionals in Florence. Coach Earhart is ready for the challenge.

“Florence has a good gym and we will be ready to play,” Earhart said.

Earhart is proud of the work the girls have put in this season.

“I think the biggest thing is we play as a team,” Earhart said. “In order to win you have to play as a team. In other sports you can have one player who can dominate. In volleyball you need a whole team to win the match.”

Plains will play Deer Lodge in the second match Thursday in Florence. Plains match is scheduled for 11 a.m. but will immediately follow game one.