Panthers, Falcons fall to Husky spikers
The Absarokee Huskies won two volleyball conference matches last week, leaving them undefeated in Southern Class C competition.
“So far the season is going exactly how we’d hoped,” Husky head coach Tonya Steffenson said.
The Huskies slipped in the third set of their home match against Park City on Sept. 10 but otherwise soundly defeated the visiting Panthers, 25-11, 25-13, 8-25, 25-16.
The Huskies outperformed Park City in aces by 16-9, kills 22-17, digs 140-44 and blocks 9-2, but the Panthers did better in assists by 17-6.
Four seniors led the Absarokee team. Emma Chandler had five aces, 30 digs and eight kills, Maisey Sheppard had four aces and 28 digs, Colleen Culbertson had five blocks and three assists, and Makayla Peterson had 29 digs.
For the Panthers, junior Tehya Ray had two aces, 11 digs, six kills and one block, junior Mackinzie Verke had two aces and six kills, senior Grace Jacquot had 15 assists and one block, and senior Hailee Gregerson had two aces.
Against the Falcons in Fromberg on Sept. 11, the Huskies won in three sets, 25-8, 25-14, 25-15. Absarokee posted overwhelming statistics, in aces by 19-3, digs 110-23, kills 29-9 and assists 28-8.
Chandler had 11 kills. 7 assists and one block. Culbertson had 20 digs, 13 assists and one block. Sheppard had six kills, 16 digs and five aces. Sophomore Emma LaMoure served five aces.
For Fromberg, Angel Barker had eight kills and two aces, Breanna Kinn had eight digs, and Sakara Reichert had seven digs.
The Huskies are now 3-0 in conference and 4-0 overall. Next up are the Reed Point-Rapelje Renegades on Thursday, Sept. 17, for homecoming, followed by a trip to Huntley for an invitational tournament on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“We are looking forward to the upcoming tournament in Huntley,” Steffenson said. “This tournament challenges our team by putting us against Class B schools. With all-day play and minimal breaks, this is a great time to see how in shape we are, or if we need to ‘up’ the conditioning during practices.”
From gazprepsports
Absarokee def. Park City
25-11, 25-13, 8-25, 25-16
Park City: Aces 9 (Mackinzie Verke 2, Hailee Grergerson 2, Tehya Ray 2), Digs 44 (Ray 11), Kills 17 (Ray 7), Blocks 2 (Grace Jacquot, Ray), Assists 17 (Jacquot 15).
Absarokee: Aces 16 (Emma Chandler 5), Digs 140 (Chandler 30), Kills 22 (Chandler 8), Blocks 9 (Colleen Culbertson 5), Assists 6 (Culbertson 3)
Absarokee def. Fromberg
25-8, 25-14, 25-15
Absarokee: Kills 29 (Emma Chandler 11), Blocks 2 (Colleen Culbertson, Chandler), Aces 19 (Maisey Sheppard 5, Emma LaMoure 5), Digs 110 (Culbertson 20), Assists 28 (Culbertson 13)
Fromberg: Kills 9 (Angel Barker 8), Blocks 1 (Marlaina Turley), Aces 3 (Barker 2), Digs 23 (Breanna Kinn 8), Assists 8 (Alysa Gonzales 6)