Warrior volleyball starts with loss to Valentine

By Briana Lien

The Warrior volleyball team started their regular season last Thursday, Aug. 28, with a non-conference game against the Valentine Badgers. The Warriors saw Valentine early last season as well and beat them in a quick and easy three sets, but the Badgers came back determined and took the Warriors’ victory 3-1. 

The first set of the season started with a Badger point via Warrior error on an out of bounds serve. The Badgers continued running away with the lead, eventually hitting the 20 mark while the Warriors were stuck at 10. That seemed to be the spark the Bennett County girls needed as they climbed back with a few more points, only to eventually fall 16-25 after a final Badger hit. 

Set two saw the Warriors a bit more themselves as they immediately returned the starting serve, turning it into a rally for first point. The Badgers managed to stick close at the start but the Warrior lead slowly expanded for a 25-15 victory. 

A backrow attack from the Warriors sent the third set into motion with them taking the inital lead. Both teams seemed to have found their footing as the points racked up fairly evenly throughout the set, until Valentine was able to get the final lead, leaving the Warriors with their second set loss of the night at 22-25. 

The fourth and final set of the night began with a Badger serve which the Warriors sent back with an outside hit for first point. They managed three more points before Valentine was able to get on the board, then continued the trend of sharing points back and forth. The two teams showed up for their last match of the night with long volleys, showing the conditioning and effort put in during the off season. While 25 points are needed to win, the lead team must win by a margin of two points, and neither team wanted to give up, taking the score well past that 25. With neck-and-neck play, the Warriors eventually fell to the Badgers with a final score of 27-29. 

Bennett County game stats:

Ace serves: Harley Harris 1, Peyson O’Neill 4, Reagan O’Neill 2; Kills: Harley Harris 4, Peyson O’Neill 12, Reagan O’Neill 17, Aubrey Peil 3, Olivia McMillan 5, Madi Waln 2, Clara Weber 1; Assists: Harley Harris 1, Peyson O’Neill 1, Aubrey Peil 4, Macy Claussen 24, Clara Weber 12; Digs: Harley Harris 21, Peyson O’Neill 7, Reagan O’Neill 6, Rylee Hicks 9, Macy Claussen 1, Olivia McMillan 20, Madi Waln 1, Clara Weber 1.