Lady Bobcats earn big win over Hot Springs

Sometimes a win-one, lose-one scenario is not so bad, especially when the level of competition is considered.

So under those guidelines, the Superior Lady Bobcats volleyball team had a good week, holding off Western 14C foe Hot Springs 3-1 in a very tough home match this past Tuesday, then taking Western 13C powerhouse Seeley to the five game limit before falling 3-2 Thursday evening in a match also held in Superior.

Against Hot Springs, which came into the game with a 5-5 conference record, Superior got off to a sluggish start, falling in the first set 25-18 to go down 1-0 in the match.

However, the 6-3 Lady Bobcats put it together in set number two and cruised to a 25-16 win that squared the match at a game each.

Pivotal game three turned out to be a nail-biter to the end, with both teams sustaining long volleys with solid digs and good play at the net.

In the end, Superior managed to hold onto a two-point lead and win the third set 25-23 to go up 2-1 in the match.

The Lady Cats sewed up the hard-fought victory with a slightly easier 25-17 game four win and a 3-0 match victory.

Junior Lanie Crabb paced both teams with a game high 19 kills and 36 digs. Senior Payton Milender added 11 kills and 26 digs, while setter Brooke Bibler had three service aces and an awesome 35 assists for the Cats.

Hot Springs had got similar double-figure stats from Brooke Jackson, who had 22 assists, Lily DeTienne who had a match high 29 kills, and freshman Kara Christensen who recorded 12 digs.

The Lady Bobcats barely had time to recover from the Hot Springs game when Seeley came to town Thursday evening. The Lady Blackhawks, second in the Western 13C conference, fell behind early in the opening set of that match, eventually losing 25-20 to give the host Superior team a 1-0 match advantage.

The Lady Blackhawks bounced back in the second set for a 25-14 win, then took the third set 25-18 for a 2-1 match lead.

However, the never-quit Lady Cats battled back in the fourth set for a 25-21 win, squaring the match at two wins each and sending it into the 15-point fifth set tiebreaker.

Seeley had more juice left in the tank and was able to jump out to an early fifth set lead and hold on for a 15-7 match victory.

As was the case Tuesday, Superior got some fine individual performances, including an 8 kills, 33 digs night from Milender, three aces and 36 digs from Crabb, 39 digs from Trinity Donaldson and 26 assists from Bibler.

Superior closes out regular season play this week with a pair of road games, beginning Tuesday (Oct 18) at St. Regis, then a Thursday night trip to Granite.

District playoffs begin October 27-28 in Ronan.