The Lady Tigers of Darby retained sole possession of first place in District 9C with a strong win over second place Philipsburg. Darby, who is undefeated, won the match in three games, 25-15, 25-22, and 25-19. Although the Lady Tigers never trailed in the first game of the match, they had to come from behind in the other two games. Strong serving, especially by Lacey Dolcater and Keeley Ehmann powered the Lady Tigers through to the lead and the win in both games.
In the second game, Darby was down by six points when Lacey Dolcater stepped up to serve. She served six straight points to tie the game. The Lady Tigers fell behind once again but this time it was Ehmann who served up four points to pull within a point at 21-22. A net service error by Philipsburg tied the game. A kill by Lauren Dolcater off a quick set and an ace by Tori Johnston gave the win to Darby.
Darby’s coach Jodi Bush was very happy with her team’s play for the day. “We served well with very few service errors. All of the players are playing their roles well.”
It was the solid serving by Darby that kept them in the third game and gave them the win. Philipsburg had the lead several times throughout the game. Darby kept close with serving and persistence at the net. Darby had 30 kills and two blocks. They finished with 10 aces.
The team has decided this year to not have individual stats listed, but rather only have their team stats according to Bush. “It’s a commitment to the team as a whole. These girls have a very strong work ethic and are very driven to win.”
Florence continued their strong play, taking on and topping Loyola in three games on Thursday. Coach Jeff Mahler had said he felt Loyola would be one of the tougher teams in the conference and was pleased with how well his team played against them.
Florence held off the Breakers in the first game and went on to win, 25-19. They won the second game 25-19 and the third game 25-16. The Lady Falcons had 42 kills with Sabrina Hopcroft knocking down 14. Autumn Round had four of the nine blocks for Florence. Kristyne Drozdz had 36 digs and the team had 69 digs. Rylie Hawkins had 40 assists and Drozdz had three aces.
The Lady Falcons topped another tough team, Bigfork, on Saturday. Florence won in three games – 25-11, 25-17, 25-16. Megan Byrne had thirteen kills for Florence. Jessica Dufresne finished with three blocks and Hawkins had 31 assists. Florence had 42 digs with Drozdz digging up 23 of them. She also had six aces.
Hamilton lost to Dillon in four games – 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21. Shannon Casale had 12 kills and 29 digs for Hamilton. Ellie Hurlbert finished with three blocks. Kloie Nye had 32 digs. Makayla Horvath had 22 assists and Jaylee Albert had four aces.