Netters end season

It wasn’t how the Lady Dogies wanted to end their season, but head coach Mickey Crabtree’s crew gave everything they had at the 3A East Regional Volleyball Tournament Friday and Saturday in Douglas. Unfortunately, the team fell a little short losing to Torrington in the quarter-finals, defeating Burns in the first loser-out game, and falling to Rawlins in a hard-fought contest to go to state.

“You know, we overcame some obstacles on Friday, and the kids stepped up which was great,” Crabtree said. “I thought we played really well, which is what we wanted to see.”

Coming in as the five seed in the East Conference, the Lady Dogies were tasked with taking on the No. 4-seeded Torrington Lady Trailblazers in their opening contest on Friday morning. In previous head-to-head games, the ‘Blazers had taken two dominating three-set wins over Newcastle.

After playing much improved volleyball in the last few weeks, the Lady Dogies didn’t let the earlier losses get in their way as they gave the Lady ‘Blazers a real run for their money.

It took a minute for them to warm up, Newcastle simply gave away too many points, and Torrington took advantage of those mistakes to win the first set 25-17.

In set number two, however, the Lady Dogies ramped up their play to defeat the Lady ‘Blazers 28-26, and battled in the third set but just fell short 24-26. In the fourth set, Torrington opened up a lead late in the set to take the match with the 25-17 win over Newcastle.

“It felt great that we didn’t just give the game to them, we made them work for it,” said senior, Savanah Carr. “I wish we would have played the entire season the way we did at the end, but I guess the goal is to be peaking at the end, which we did.”

Crabtree’s crew had some adversity to contend with in the Torrington contest when starting outside hitter Adalyn Olson fell ill during the second set, and freshman Zadyn Allen was called on to fill that role. This was not the first time that Allen has subbed in for Olson this season, however, and the stakes were never higher than they were for the freshman in this game.

“I know that Zadyn was very nervous, and there may have been a couple of tears when she got the call to go in,” Crabtree said. “But the girls really pulled her along and told her that it was her time, which helped her, and it was just great to see the team do that.”

With the season on the line, the Lady Dogies faced off against Burns in the 9 a.m. game on Saturday morning. After losing to Burns two weeks ago, Newcastle had some revenge to exact in this do-or-die contest.

Adversity continued as Olson was still sidelined for the match, and libero Brooklyn Benshoof was taken out of the first set when she sprained her ankle. As such, other younger players were called upon to fill that role as well.

Despite the adversity, Newcastle dominated the Lady Broncs in set one, defeating them 25-12. In the second set, they seemed to fall apart a little, dropping it 19-25. The good news in that set was that Olson was able to return to the court, where she stayed for the remainder of the day.

In set three and four, Newcastle was back on form, and decisively defeated Burns 25-13 and 25-19, thereby living to play another loser-out game against Rawlins in the afternoon.

“Our defense was great, and I think our consistency was much improved, which was great,” Carr said. “Our team chemistry was also great, and we played really well as a team.”

Middle hitter/blocker, Delainey Dresen, and outside hitter, Syd Pederson, had an outstanding match, with Dresen amassing 11 kills, and Pederson racking up 12 kills and three aces for their team.

Despite defeating the Lady Outlaws during the regular season, and playing some scrappy volleyball against them in this second loser-out contest, the Lady Dogies fell 18-25, 24-26
and 19-25.

“I was really happy to see the girls play hard and not give up,” Crabtree said. “They finished as a team, so that felt good to see.”

Kyndal Von Eye and Dresen were both perfect from the service line in all three contests of the tournament. Benshoof and Olson were both perfect from the line in the two matches in which they had the opportunity to serve.

“I thought that we came together as a team toward the end of the season, and though it was disappointing how it ended, I thought we played together really well as a team,” Carr said. “We fought for everything, and made Torrington and Rawlins work for every point they got.”

The Lady Dogies will lose just one player from their lineup, as Carr was the team’s only senior this year, and Crabtree noted that they will definitely feel the loss in both her contribution on the court and in her leadership.

“Sav has grown so much over the years, and she is definitely leaving this program better than she found it,” Crabtree said. “She is leaving a big role vacant that someone will need to step into next year.”

Crabtree feels good about the players that will be returning next season, and she and her team are eager to work hard in the off season to achieve their goals in 2025.