Trotters rebound with wins over Mission, Superior

Following their first loss of the season the week before to league leading Eureka, the Plains Trotters volleyballers were no doubt anxious to get back on the court. 

They showed they have shaken off the heart-breaking, 3-2 nail-biter to Eureka by taking it out on Mission (3-1) and Superior (3-0) in a pair of matches this past week. 

Tuesday the Trotters welcomed Mission to Plains High where they jumped out to an early lead and held it on their way to a 25-17 first set win and a 1-0 match lead.  

Plains followed that opening set victory with a 25-12 set two win, giving them a 2-0 match lead. 

However, Mission was not going down easy as they rallied to overtake Plains on their way to a hard-fought 25-21 victory in the pivotal third set, cutting the Plains match lead to 2-1. 

But the hometown girls showed they too can win the hard-fought sets and did so with a 25-20 fourth set victory, clinching the 3-1 home match win. 

The victory pushed Plains' overall record to 8-1 and their Western 7B league mark to 5-1. 

The Saner girls, Teagan and Taylor both had outstanding matches for the Trotters against Mission.  Teagan led the team in kills with 11, blocks with nine and services aces with six.  Taylor led the Trotters with 12 digs. 

Sophomore standout Claire Lakko also had a fine match for the Trotters, leading the team once again with 29 assists, finished second with six blocks and chipping in five aces. 

Aubree Butcher had 10 kills for the Trotters. 

This past Thursday, Plains traveled to Superior for a match with the Lady Bobcats and came away with a sweep of the 1-11 Cats. 

Plains took the first set, 25-19 against the hard-playing Superior team.  They cranked it up a notch in the second set, downing Superior 25-10 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead. 

Superior kept it close in the third set, but could not get past the Trotters, who fought them off for a 25-18 set win and a 3-0 match sweep. 

Braelyn Mangold led the Lady Bobcats with eight digs, two blocks, two kill shots and two service aces on the night. Makenzie Reum had four kills and eight digs for the Cats. 

Teagan Sander was once again the leader in three statistical categories for the Trotters, topping the team in kills (7), blocks (5) and aces (six).  Teammate Lakko also had another solid game, topping the Trotters with 21 assists while also recording nine digs, five aces one block and four kills. 

Senior Lexi Deming shared the team lead in digs with Lakko with nine to go with her four kills.  Kali Tuma chipped in four kills, four aces and six digs for Plains. 

The victory of Superior boosted Plains to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play. 

Next up for Plains is a vital conference match tonight (Tuesday, Oct 15) against Thompson Falls on the Lady Hawks home court.  Plains won their previous match in Plains, 3-2.  The T Falls match is the Trotters’ only match of this week.  Next week they host Troy (Tuesday, Oct 22) in a senior night event, then travel to Eureka for a second match against the league leaders next Thursday (Oct 24). 

Superior hosts Troy this Thursday (Oct 17), then travels to Eureka for a Saturday (Oct 19) match versus the unbeaten Lions.