Lady Raiders Struggle at Aurora Tourney

SIDNEY--A week that started with a road victory in Imperial against Chase County on Tuesday and then a split at home against Mitchell and Gering turned into a struggle at the Aurora Tournament on Saturday where the Lady Raiders dropped two of three matches.

On Tuesday, September 19, the Sidney girls traveled to Imperial to match up against the Lady Longhorns. The Chase County team has struggled all season with only two wins prior to facing Sidney, and surprisingly battled hard against he Lady Raiders in the first set which Sidney finally won 25-to-23. Sidney ramped up the intensity in the last two sets, dispatching the Lady Longhorns 25-to-18 in the second set and 25-to-14 in the third set for the 3-to-0 match victory. Senior Karsyn Leeling was outstanding on offense, powering 18 kills in the victory. Senior Payton Schrotberger was again outstanding setting, racking up 23 assists and having 14 digs in the win.

Sidney then hosted a triangular on Thursday, September 21, and first matched up against Mitchell. For the second time this season, the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Tigers in straight sets, 25-to-18 and 25-to-7. Leeling again led with 8 kills, while sophomore Kierra Schrader banged down 6 kills in the win. Schrotberger again led with 12 assists. Next, the Lady Raiders faced rival Gering, and after the Lady Bulldogs gave up the first set, 25-to-20, they rebounded and battled the Lady Raiders for every point, pulling out a 25-to-22 second set win and a 25-to-23 third set win to take the match from the Lady Raiders, 2-to-1. Leeling led the offense with 16 kills and senior Chloe Ahrens added 11 kills of her own, while Schrotberger tallied 29 assists in the loss. 6' 0" freshman Jacey Cochran led the Gering squad with 10 kills and senior Alex Gonzalez-Orozco had 27 assists in the win.

Sidney then traveled to Aurora on Saturday to match up against Class B Crete, C1 Lincoln Christian and Aurora. Sidney started with Crete, and were overmatched by the powerhouse Class B team. The Lady Cardinals had no trouble dispatching the Lady Raiders in straight sets, 25-to-10 and 25-to-11. Junior Carli Black had 5 kills in the loss and Schrotberger led with just 3 assists. The Lady Raiders next faced a struggling Lady Crusaders team from Lincoln Christian, but the Lady Crusaders turned in a sharp performance, keeping Sidney off-balance with the service game, blocked many Sidney kill attempts and placed their shots effectively in holes in the Lady Raider defense. Lincoln Christian took the first set 25-to-18 and held off Sidney in the second set, 25-to-21 for the 2-to-0 match victory. Leeling led with 8 kills and junior Ryan Dillehay had 10 assists in the loss. Sidney was able to regroup against Aurora, even after dropping the first set to the Lady Huskies 25-to-21. The Lady Raiders then fired back with a 25-to-16 second set victory and a 25-to-19 third set victory for the 2-to-1 match victory.

The week's action moves Sidney's season record to 11-and-6. The Lady Raiders were scheduled to travel to Scottsbluff Tuesday to match up against the rival Lady Bearcats.

PHOTO/MIKE MOTZ, SIDNEY SUN-TELEGRAPH

Sidney junior Carli Black goes up and places a shot during the Lady Raiders' victory over Mitchell on Thursday.