Earhart proud of Trotters tournament play

PLAINS – The Trotters ended their season at the Western B Divisional Tournament in Florence over the weekend.

Plains started their journey against Deer Lodge. The Trotters played a strong first set but lost the match in three sets 23-25, 11-25, 20-25. The loss put the Trotters in the consolation bracket for the next day.

Plains had 21 kills in the match and were led by Felicia Earhart with six on the afternoon.

“They wanted to shut down our hitters,” Head Coach Kim Earhart said. “It gave Felicia a chance to find the holes.”

The Trotters were able to get five blocks with Leah Thompson and Hailey Phillips each adding two a piece.

Passing hurt the Trotters on the afternoon. The team managed just 11 assists with Earhart adding eight of them.

“The first game was so emotional,” Earhart said. “The girls quit playing offense and started playing safe.”

For the Trotter defense, they were able to get 55 digs with Kimberly Earhart having 14 of them.

For the first time in seven years Plains made it to the Divisional round of volleyball.

“It’s an emotional lift,” Earhart said. “We broke down barriers and walls. Had we taken the first game from Deer Lodge, it could have gone a different way. It was an emotional crush.”

After losing the first game, with emotions so high, the girls could not get it going in the second set. The Trotters could not recover after being down 2-0 and lost in a close third set.

After the loss, the Trotters waited to see who they would play on Friday in the consolation bracket.

The Trotters faced Ronan in the elimination game. The match was hard fought as the Trotters lost in straight sets 23-25, 21-25, 20-25.

The loss put an end to the team’s run at a Divisional crown. It marked the first time in seven years the Trotters had advanced this far in tournament play.

“We came out and played hard,” Earhart said. “I can’t complain with the effort the girls gave me all season. They can be proud of making it as far as they did.”

Plains had 25 kills on the afternoon with Phillips adding seven. At the net, the ladies were able to get seven blocks. Phillips once again showed her strength at the net, this time on defense, with four blocks during the match.

“I think Ronan stopped hitting toward Leah,” Earhart said. “They tried to take our hitters out of the game and their defense played really well.”

The girl’s defense was able to get 49 digs against Ronan. The Trotters were led by K. Earhart with 10.

Ronan’s defense was able to combat the attack of Plains with 63 digs of their own. The Trotters appeared to play more aggressive, fighting to stay alive.

F. Earhart returned to form adding 19 of the 21 team assists. Not only did she lead the team in assists from the setter position, she also lead the team with three aces.

The Trotters defense allowed 12 aces from Ronan as well as 29 kills. The teams were separated by just 11 points overall.

“Ronan was very scrappy,” Earhart said. “They could get the setter out of the game and made it difficult for other teams to run their offense.”

Coach Earhart thinks his team played their best and put it all out on the court. Earhart said his girls left it all out on the court and everyone should be proud of their season. He said he had a great group of girls, and a great group of seniors that led this team all the way through.