Plains volleyball notches two wins

Here come the Trotters. No trotting here, it's out of the gate and moving.

Plains volleyball grabbed a pair of wins this past week, defeating St. Ignatius on the road and Superior at home. 

The Trotters opened the week Thursday evening at Mission High in St. Ignatius against the Bulldogs, jumping out to an early match lead by taking a hard-fought first set, 26-24, win over the home team. 

They came back and had a bit of an easier time in the second set, taking it 25-16 to assume a 2-0 match lead. 

Plains closed out the win and the sweep with a 25-20 victory in the third set.  In the match win over Mission, they overcame a 12-kill evening by Bulldog Alicia Steele. 

The Trotters countered with some outstanding performances of their own, including a match-high 25 assists from sophomore Claire Lakko. The Saner clan also had a solid match, with Teagan recording a team-best 11 kill shots, and Taylor Saner leading the team in digs with 11. Teagan also had four blocks, tying her with Aubree Butcher for the team high, while Lakko was tops on the team with four service aces. 

Saturday afternoon Plains took on the Lady Bobcats from Superior, who came in 0-3 on the young season. 

The Lady Cats overcame an early 5-1 deficit in the first set in what was a crowd-pleasing effort by both teams. Superior caught the Trotters and tied the score at 21-all, then 22-all. They then went up 24-22 and wrapped up the set one win, 25-23 to take a 1-0 match lead. 

Set two was a different story, as the Trotters galloped to an 11-3 lead, which grew to 21-6 behind the serving of Lakko. Plains went on to a 25-8 set win and a 1-1 match tie. 

In the pivotal third set, Superior held a short-lived 1-0 lead before, after several early ties, Plains grabbed a 12-9 lead and never looked back on their way to a 25-19 set three win and a 2-1 match advantage. 

In the fourth set, Plains had an early lead before Superior tied the set at 4-each. The Lady Bobcats went on to take an11-5 lead, only to watch Plains battle back and tie the score at 13. 

The Trotters took a 14-13 lead, then steadily built on it on their way to a 25-15 set victory and a 3-1 match triumph. 

For the second straight match, Lakko had a match-best 25 assists.  Kalie Tuma led the Trotters in Digs with 12, and Lexi Deming was the team leader in kill shots with 8. Lakko also paced Plains in service aces with 7. 

Aubree Butcher led Plains in blocked shots with five. Lakko also had six kills and six digs for the Trotters. 

Next up for Plains is a road trip to Hot Springs tonight (Sept 17), followed by a home match versus Thompson Falls this Thursday (Sept 19).