Hot Springs takes on Arlee

HOT SPRINGS – The Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat were defeated in their game against Arlee Thursday, but not before they put up an intense fight and made the Scarlets work for the victory.

The match started off slow for Hot Springs, with Arlee gaining an early lead. The home team tried to pull back, but the Scarlets were consistently able to keep ahead.

In the second period, though, the girls game back with a stronger game; they were able to pull ahead early and start to build a lead. Arlee fought back and were able to tie the score, beginning a stalemate battle where each team would pull ahead before being pulled back by the other.

The period continued this way right up to the end. Arlee started to get a small lead, but Hot Springs’ girls were able to keep close and threaten their victory. However, the Scarlets were just able to edge out and get the two-point lead needed to win.

The final period was even more intense. Early in the period, the teams began another deadlock of tying the game. The Hot Springs girls were able to pull ahead and maintained a lead for some time; however, Arlee’s girls gave a final push to break through the home defense, pulling ahead and keeping a strong lead to the end.

Head Coach Alisha Pablo was happy with the Lady Savage Heat’s performance. She noted Arlee had been the top team in the district for several years and were the top team this year as well. She also noted the girls had shown good improvement from their practices.

“What we were working on in practice was coming together as a team and communicating,” she said. “I think they did that very well tonight.”

The team had also made some changes to their layout and was able to incorporate it without any hiccups. Pablo said their servers were also doing well, though net play could see some improvement. She attributed some of this to how young the team is and how some of the girls need to get more into a varsity mindset during games.

“All around, I’m very proud of them; they worked really hard this week and it showed,” she said.

Hot Springs’ next game will be at the Arlee tournament on Saturday, September 26. They will be playing against approximately 16 Class C teams from around the area; this will include schools from this district as well as Victor, Valley Christian and others.

In practices this week, the Lady Savage Heat have been working on their net play and serving “in intense situations.” Pablo noted their serves were good, but started to falter at times when there was lots of pressure. There will also be a freshman returning to the team and getting reincorporated into the rotation.