Lady Raiders dominate from start, sweep Sutherland

The Sidney High volleyball team spiked its way to a dominant sweep Thursday night of the Sutherland Sailors at the Cabela's Athletic Facility. Sidney won by scores of 25-14, 25-13 and 25-6. 

With the win in their first home game of the season, the Lady Raiders moved to 2-2 and have recovered nicely after being swept by North Platte and Ogallala last week.

For Sidney head coach Sarah Wilson, strong team play was a major factor in the convincing victory. 

"I was mostly proud of how well the girls worked together as a team," Wilson said. 

The Lady Raiders' passing was on point all evening and it helped them to set up efficient attacks that got them out to big, early leads in each set.

There was a brief scare in the middle of the second set, however, when star senior middle blocker Savanna Rosenbaum left with an ankle injury. She didn't return to the match but the injury isn't believed to be serious. 

With the match well within Sidney's hands even by the time of Rosenbaum's injury, the coaching staff decided to play it safe and keep their star player out. Rosenbaum compiled five kills, two aces and three and a half blocks in her shortened night.

Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Knight matched Rosenbaum with five kills of her own. 

Wilson said she was impressed with how her team handled the absence of its best player.

"There was a little bit of adversity when we had to sit out Savanna as one of our starting players," Wilson said. "We had already used our player that typically goes in the middle. Jadyn (Stimka) stepped in there and that's not a position she normally plays. She adapted quickly, and everyone (else) adapted quickly. I'm proud that they tried to continue their high level of play and at the same time adjusting to unexpected circumstances."

For a few moments, it appeared as though Sutherland would gain some momentum right after Rosenbaum left. The Sailors scored four consecutive points and got within 14-8 in the second set. But the Lady Raiders pulled themselves together and took full control the rest of the way through, scoring seven of the next eight points. 

In the third set, Sidney got out to a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back. Sutherland – as it had for most of the match – was struggling to limit mistakes in its own end. But credit Sidney as it capitalized on most of the opportunities. The Lady Raiders put the exclamation point on the match with a 12-2 run to end the third set. 

By the middle of the third set, frustration set in with the Sailors' players. But the Sidney side continued to play its game and finished strong.

"We did what we needed to and kind of got into Sutherland's heads," Wilson said. "They were a little frustrated and given up to a small degree. Sometimes that's tough – when the opponent's level of play goes down, sometimes yours sinks down with them. So we really challenged ourselves and told them (the Sidney players) to take the last five points."

The Lady Raiders resume action on Tuesday when it travels to Chadron for a triangular with Bridgeport. The first match is slated for 4 p.m.