The DCB Ladyjacks Volleyball team went 1-2 this week in Montana losing a heartbreaking 3-2 set to Miles CC on Tuesday followed by a 3-1 loss to Rocky Mountain JV on Wednesday afternoon. They wrapped up the trip with a dominating 3-1 win over Dawson CC Wednesday night.
Tuesday October 22, 2019
The Ladyjacks played very well losing a heartbreaking 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 12-15) against the 3rd place Miles Community College Pioneers. The Ladyjacks actually lead 12-6 in the tie-breaking set only to give up 9 consecutive points to end the match.
"We played really well against a tough team", stated Head Coach Mike Smith. "A heartbreaking loss would be an understatemnet! The ladies played very well and never gave up. We have played very well the last 10 days and we likely deserve a better result but thats the way it goes sometimes", added Smith.
The loss officially eliminated the Ladyjacks from the post-season.
Freshman OH Shonte Seale lead the team with 15 kills while sophomore OH Michelle Krahn added 10 and sophomore middle Tiandre Stuart picked up 9.
Freshman setter Samantha Harris dished out 32 assists.
Stuart, Seale and sophomore middle Lexi Gullett were a force at the net picking up 6,5 and 5 blocks respectfully. The Ladyjacks consistently thwarted the Pioneer attack with one of their finest defensive performances of the year.
The back row passing was also strong with many players sharing the load. "My sophomore group of passers has been very strong, in particular in the last week or so. Sarah (Marshall), Karrien (Marteniuk) and Taryn (Roberts) have played a lot of sets and have become difference makers. Serve receive is vital and we have done a very good job the last half of the season getting the ball where it needs to be", said Smith.
Marshall lead with 24 digs Roberts added 11 and Marteniuk chipped in 10. Seale was impressive in the back court as well adding 18 digs.
Wednesday October 23, 2019 Afternoon Game
The Ladyjakcs played well but lacked emotion in a 3-1 (25-22, 12-25, 20-25, 18-25) non-conference loss to Rocky Mountain College's JV team.
Seale lead the way with 15 kills while Stuart added 6 and Krahn 5. Harris added 29 assists.
Gullett, Stuart and Seale picked up 5 blocks each as the Ladyjacks continued to control the net. Marteniuk picked up 30 digs while Marshall added 12 and Roberts 10.
The Ladyjacks would need to rebound quickly as they would take on MonDak foe and host team Dawson Community College 2 hours later.
Night Game
The Ladyjacks played perhaps their best three sets of volleyball this season defeating the Buccaneers 3-1. They dominated the first set winning 25-19. They fell apart in the second set losing 25-9. Coach Smith pulled his starters half way through the set choosing to rest them and try to dig out of a huge deficit.
"Right after that set I told our girls we can't afford to take another set off. We were a bit tired and made a few mistakes so it was time to let some others take their shot. The girls stepped up in the third and fourth sets and played their best volleyball of the season when we really needed it. I wasn't happy with our focus in the Rocky game and we talked about where we needed to be mentally to prepare for our Dawson game. I give them credit they stepped up and put together a great performance in a tough place to play. Maybe the toughest place to play! Their fans sit and stand right in front of your servers and try to make it difficult on them. Last year i think it affected us a little. This year we did a great job of staying focused", added Smith.
Seale, arguably the conference's best hitter, lead the team with 21 kills! Stuart and Krahn each had 9 kills. Harris picked up 37 assists.
It was on defence where Smith feels the team really put everything together. "Shayna Baugh is one of the top hitters in the conference. She hits a hard ball from the middle and from the back court. We did a great job of shutting her down today. She has killed us in the past and we wanted to make sure she didn't beat us. Lexi (Gullett) and Tiandre (Stuart) were a force in the middle. Our outside hitters helped out on block and we played outstanding positional defense. We are playing really good volleyball right now and our girls believe we can beat anyone if we play our best. We haven't been able to stay at that level all year but i will say the last 25 sets we have played have been very good!"
Stuart had 6 blocks while Gullett added 4. They had numerous blocks that were not scoring blocks but continually forced the Buccaneers to re-group. Setter Harris had 3 blocks while freshman RS Masaya Archbold chipped in 2. The team covered the floor well with 10 different Ladyjacks picking up digs. Marshall had 18, Seale 17, Krahn 12 and Marteniuk 8 as the team refused to let a ball hit the floor.
The team sits at 9-20 and will host Williston State College on Monday night at the Woodshed beginning at 7:00pm. Depending on the outcome of the Miles/Dawson game Sunday night this game could be a game that Williston must win to qualify for the MonDak playoffs.