Jay Daubenberger
Following a long seven-hour bus ride to the state of Wyoming, the Seward County Lady Saints volleyball team competed in day one of the Marriot’s SpringHill Suites Cheyenne Invitational where SCCC took down #16 Casper for the second time in the 2024 season before falling in a five-set thriller to Central Arizona.
Camden Bizot helped the Lady Saints to a hot start in game one against the T-Birds with back-to-back kills from both ends of the net to create a four-point lead in set one at 9-5. Casper quickly closed in on Seward County with a run of their own but a rocket at the pin from Ana Nikolic helped to keep the SCCC lead alive at 15-14 midway through the set. Mariana Silva and Marcelina Pyka combined at the net for a monster block to create a 5-1 run late in the set for Seward County 22-18 before swiftly wrapping up the set 25-19 off a kill from Keala Wilson to take a 1-0 set lead.
SCCC kept their foot on the gas to start the second as Lajla Rasljanin paired up with Bizot at the net for a stuff to take an 8-4 lead early while Nikolic showed off her skill set with a hammer down the line followed by a soft floater to increase the lead to six at 18-12. Casper put a few points together to trim the gap before Silva answered back with another kill for the ladies in green before later combining with Rasljanin for another block to take the second set 25-20 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three did not start like the first and second as the Lady Saints fell behind the T-Birds 12-6 as Casper charged ahead. Seward County fell behind by as many as eight with the T-Birds leading 23-15 before a trio of kills from Silva helped to spark a 6-1 run from the Lady Saints and a floater from Wilson helped close the gap to three at 24-22. SCCC was not able to complete a comeback for the sweep as Casper took set three 25-22 with the Lady Saints still holding a 2-1 set lead in the match.
The fourth set of the match saw both sides in a constant battle for the lead as Seward County and Casper exchanged blows until Bizot helped SCCC create some space with an ace in the back corner for an 11-9 lead. Silva connected on a big swing off the feed from Wilson to continue to grow the lead to 18-15 and a few points later with the score locked at 21, she smashed home another big kill to push back in front 22-21. Although the T-Birds forced the set into extra points with a late run to take a 25-24 lead, a 3-0 run from the Lady Saints sealed their second win of the season over #16 Casper to start the weekend off with a win.
Bizot kept her momentum on track to open up game two of the day for Seward County with a kill from the right side for a five-point lead over Central Arizona before CAC answered back to close the gap down to a 16-14 SCCC lead. The Lady Saints maintained their lead throughout the first set as Bizot cashed in on another kill from the right side paired with a banger from Silva to stretch the lead to 22-17. Pyka helped close set one against CAC with a high-flying swing from the middle of the net to seal it 25-21 for a 1-0 set lead.
Seward County takes another early lead over Central Arizona to begin set two as Silva rises high and slams down another kill for the Lady Saints to take a 9-7 lead before a plethora of errors plagued SCCC as they fell behind 20-15 in the second. Seward County was unable to recover from their own mistakes as CAC tied the match up at one set a piece with a 25-16 win in set two.
Set three was a dog fight between both teams as Seward County and Central Arizona clashed in a battle to claim the lead which SCCC was able to capture off a pair of kills from Wilson for an 11-9 advantage. Bizot launched in a kill down the line to keep the Lady Saints lead alive to grow the lead all the way to nine before CAC cut it back down to five at 23-18 to keep SCCC on their toes until a final pair of kills helped Seward County take set three 25-20 and a 2-1 set lead.
Central Arizona charged in front to start the fourth for a substantial lead over the Lady Saints who managed to stay within reach off an ace from Rasljanin to keep CAC’s lead at 10-6 but could not overcome the barrage of kills from their opponents. Nikolic and Pyka connected on a pair of powerful swings to add to the SCCC score and despite going on a brief run of their own, Seward County could not stay close with Central Arizona who took the fourth 25-16 and forced a fifth set for winner take all.
Just like the prior set, the Lady Saints fell behind early and once again were unable to fight back against a CAC team who found their stride. Silva slammed home another kill to add to her total while Rasljanin cashed in another ace but eventually fell in the fifth 15-8 for a 3-2 loss to Central Arizona.
Seward County splits on day one of their trip to Wyoming to put their 2024 overall record at 3-4 with two more games left to play. They will take the court against #3 Northeastern tomorrow at 12:00 PM before taking on Trinidad State at 6:00 PM to wrap up the Marriot’s SpringHill Suites Cheyenne Invitational and return home to Liberal.