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Lady Raiders Strive for Consistency

Sidney's Lady Raider volleyball team finished their 2018 season Saturday with a loss in the district finals against Grand Island North West.

Although the girls did not qualify for the state tournament, overall the year was a success for the program, highlighted by big wins, some disappointing losses, and 26-and-9 overall record.

Second year head coach Lu Howard reflected on the season, starting with assessment of the talent she had to work with prior to the season, saying "I thought we would have a great season because of three returning starters. We knew we had to focus on defense and serve reception as we were often moving too slowly to the ball."

Sidney knew they had entrenched rivals like Alliance and Ogallala to contend against, and Howard made it a point to focus on those teams as they would be standing in the way of Sidney's drive for a district title.

"It's always good for us to beat teams like Ogallala and Alliance," said Howard, "Ogallala due to their well-established program, and Alliance because they're a district rival."

Sidney started their season with an eight match winning streak, then lost to rival Alliance. When asked what the team was able to take away and build upon after the loss, Howard commented, "Our serving was not effective, and it got worse as the season went on and we couldn't figure out why. We started calling "spot serving" for the girls this year, and that could have been a contributing factor. We really concentrated on serving and serve receiving every practice but it seemed like we couldn't minimize the errors throughout the rest of the season."

Sidney also had trouble with teams outside of the district, and Howard explained, "It's usually hard to play against teams you never played before, like Thunder Basin from Wyoming. They were new to us and we did not do well against them. We also lost to Waverly, and although we did play them once last season, they killed us with their spot serving. This season's games against Waverly could've gone either way, but we did not play our best in those matches."

Sidney was able to do well enough in the Subdistrict tournament to earn home court advantage in the district finals, and drew Grand Island North West, a team that coach Howard believed the Lady Raiders had a good chance of defeating.

"I honestly thought we were going to win on our home court," said Howard, adding "If we would've played like we did in the Subdistricts against Gering and Alliance, we would have beaten Northwest. But we had a few of our starters struggle on Saturday, and it showed."

Consistency and mastering volleyball skills seemed to be the Lady Raiders' biggest challenge during the year, although there was overall improvement from last season. Howard explained, "I think the girls were more consistent this year than they were last season, but it will take a few more seasons to get the consistency to a higher level. Many things we were expecting were still very new to them, and it's hard to be consistent when you just learned a skill a few weeks ago. Most of our girls only play during the season for a few months, while the teams from eastern Nebraska have an advantage as most play year-round."

Looking forward, there will be changes, but the program seems ready to continue its success as a strong underclass is geared to take their places on the varsity squad, while varsity underclassmen are ready to assume leadership roles on the team.

Howard had a very positive outlook for the team, saying, "We are losing several great seniors like Payton Jung, Katelyn Sylvester, and Makenna Douglas who were running our strong offense, but there are several hitters left that can definitely be a threat to opposing teams.

Having a strong setter next year will be key, and there are a few strong candidates for that spot."

Howard also announced that she will not be returning to coach next season, and thanked the girls, coaches, and the school for the opportunity to work with and be a part of the Lady Raider family. She said, "Unfortunately, I made the announcement that I will not be retuning as their head coach next season. The coaches I've had the pleasure to work with are skilled and love the girls and the sport, and I'm very confident there is a bright future ahead of them. I wish I could have taken the girls to the state tournament in my second and last season here, as it would have been a great ending to my coaching experience here in Sidney."

It has not been announced who will take over as head coach next year, but with the talent and foundation that has been built over the last few seasons look for Sidney to continue to compete at a high level and contend for a state title.

 

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