The Hamilton Lady Broncs only has two seniors on the team and neither one of them saw a lot of action last year. But they have stepped up and are providing good leadership for their younger teammates.
“We’re really young,” said first year coach Jordan Carver. “We’re working to build up our program and have been fighting to win some tough matches.”
The match on Saturday was one of those tough matches. The Lady Broncs were host to the Dillon Beavs, a senior laden team. Although Dillon won in three games, each game was very close. In the first game, Katelyn Dickemore laid down an ace just inside the lines to pull Hamilton to within one point but they were unable to capitalize on that and went on to lose, 25-21.
In the second game, Hamilton played point-for-point with Dillon. With each rally, the young Lady Broncs played stronger and stronger but ultimately an out of bounds shot turned the game around. Hamilton lost, 25-22, in this game.
Carver said the team spent the first month or so focussing on building up their skills. “Once we get into our games, we can run our offense and play tough defense then.”
Dillon got off to a strong start in the third game and built up a five point lead before Hamilton clawed their way back to take an 11-10. It was Dickemore again who was strong on the left side and kept the ball in play. The two teams battled for every point then. Hamilton took the lead when Camas Cratty had a block. Freshman Taryn Searle served up two points including a kill by Dickemore to give the Lady Broncs a three point lead. But Dillon crawled back into the game with a couple of short sets and a net call. Dillon went on to win, 26-24.
“They all just work really good together as a team,” said Carver. “That was nice to see every body step up and work together to get kills. Now we just have to work to finish though games.”
Dillon def. Hamilton
25-21, 25-22, 26-24
Hamilton: Kills:32 (Emma Ellis 11). Assists: 30 (Taryn Searle 18). Aces: 8 (Layne Kearns 2, Maggie Ringer 2, Katelyn Dickemore 2). Digs: 86 (Emma Ellis 24). Blocks: 5 (Camas Cratty 2)
Dillon: Kills:22 (Evey Hansen 7). Assists: 20 (Madi Ruegsegger 19). Aces: 8 (Madi Ruegsegger 3). Digs: 70 (Josey Jones 15). Blocks: 3 (Ainsley Shipman 2).
Columbia Falls def. Stevensville
19-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-21
Columbia Falls: Kills:40 (Madysen Hoerner 17). Assists: 33 (Hannah Schweikert 32). Aces: 12 (Hannah Schweikert 5). Digs: 35 (Dillen Hoerner 9). Blocks: 5 (Grace Gedlaman 4)
Stevensville: Kills:30 (Aliyah Anderson 10). Assists: 28 (Madison Weber 28). Aces: 11 (Daphne Engel 6). Digs: 30 (Madison Weber 10). Blocks: 3 (Maddalena Margini, Kennedy Praast 1)
Seeley-Swan def. Darby
25-17, 25-17, 16-25, 25-23
Seeley-Swan: Kills:26 (Klaire Kovatch 9). Assists: 14 (Aspen Conley 7). Aces: 13 (Taylor Dillree 5). Digs: 55 (Taylor Dillree 13). Blocks: 14 (Klaire Kovatch 7)
Darby: Kills:24 (Haliegh Golden 11). Assists: 18 (Annie Rennaker 5). Aces: 14 (Mariah Lingo 5). Digs: 26 (Haliegh Golden 7). Blocks: 4 (Libby Schlapman 3)
Seeley-Swan def. Victor
25-16, 25-13, 25-14
Seeley-Swan: Kills:28 (Sariah Maughan 10). Assists: 22 (Aspen Conley 10). Aces: 10 (Taylor Dillree 4). Digs: 21 (Taylor Dillree 4, Sariah Maughan 4). Blocks: 1 (Sariah Maughan)
Victor: Kills:10 (Madi Bahr 4). Assists: 9 (Madi Barta 4). Aces: 5 (Madi Bahr 2). Digs: 38 (Haylea Wemple 9). Blocks: 0