Netters end week 1-1 in conference 

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Lady Dogies turned up the heat last Thursday in Hot Springs County as they blazed into Thermopolis determined to walk away with a W in their opening 3A Northeast Quadrant matchup against the Lady Bobcats. 
Their determination paid dividends as Newcastle picked up the first win of the conference season in four sets - 25-20, 21-25, 25-13, and 25-22.
“It was so fun and we needed it to get over the hump,” head coach Keeley Anderson smiled. “We talked about what motivates them and one of the things they said is that because of the past few seasons, people think we’re an easy win and underestimate this team this year based on previous years. We wanted to start things off in conference being the team that everyone knows is one to contend with, and I thought they did an awesome job of doing that.”
The first set was all Newcastle as they cruised to a five-point win over the Lady Bobcats. Thermopolis rallied to take the second set, but that was the only win they would have on the night.
In the third set, the Lady Dogies dominated their opponent from behind the service line and from strategically targeting Thermopolis players who were struggling.
“We’ve really been talking about seeing when we have that kind of opportunity and taking advantage of it,” Anderson nodded. “Volleyball is such a mental game and one of momentum, so when you can push your advantage when they are struggling, that’s what you want to do.”
Anderson also switched up her setters a little this week having Honesty Olson setting up middle hitter Jaylen Ostenson more, while Hunter McFarland takes her turn setting up middle hitter Tiernan Stanton more often. 
“Looking at the stats, Jay and Tiernan are neck and neck with their hitting and do a great job of putting the ball on the floor,” Anderson stressed. “We decided we need to make sure they are getting touches because they are proving they deserve them.”
Ostenson was the top player all around for the Lady Dogies on Thursday. The sophomore served the ball 25 times, had only two errors and racked up three aces. She also put down seven kills at the net and had two solo stuff blocks, one block assist and dug the ball up 14 times. 
Though Stanton doesn’t get an opportunity to serve during the contest, she was also a force throwing down nine kills and putting up a wall at the net with four solo stuff blocks. The six-foot sophomore proved she isn’t just a front row player by also digging up the ball 12 times. 
“It was a great game and a nice start to our quadrant season,” Anderson smiled. “The girls were so excited to get the win and to do it the way they did was really fun to see.”
With a day off to rest between matches, Newcastle welcomed the Buffalo Lady Bison to the Dogie Dome on Saturday for their second quadrant matchup of the week. It was two very evenly matched teams who took the court in what turned out to be a hard-fought, barn-burner of a contest.
The Lady Dogies came out strong in the first two sets, firing on all cylinders, and taking the Lady Bison a bit by surprise. Newcastle was comfortably in the lead in each until they reached 20 points, at which time they let Buffalo back in, however they were able to hang on to take a 2-0 lead in the match with 25-22 wins in both sets. 
“Buffalo has always been, and still is, a big rival for our girls,” Anderson smiled. “So it was really fun to see them take it to them in those first two sets.”
In the third set, things seemed to break down a little on the home team’s side of the net. Miscommunication and familiar unforced errors began to intrude on what had thus far been a pretty clean game and Newcastle dug themselves into a 14-23 deficit.
Despite the daunting task of having to score 11 points before Buffalo could score two, the Lady Dogies went to work and rallied back to within one before the Lady Bison salvaged the 25-22 win to push the match to set four.
In the fourth set, the stage was set with two warriors battling to the death. Newcastle had the lead, but their scrappy opponent was not one to roll over. They made a run to tie things up and after that it went point-for-point before the Lady Bison edged out the Lady Dogies 28-26.
“Once you reach 24-24 the game takes on a whole different level of intensity,” Anderson began. “But this team does such a good job of playing with a never-say-die attitude. They fight for every single point and I thought they did a really good job of hanging in.”
The fifth and deciding set only goes to 15 so stakes are high from the beginning. The Lady Dogies struggled early with a lack of communication and unforced errors and Buffalo used that to jump out to a dominating 7-1 lead. 
“They were halfway there, and we were struggling to get started,” Anderson frowned. “I called a timeout at 5-9 and told the girls that they had to push now, because while they were only six points away from winning, we were only four points away from catching them. The realization that we were closer to catching them than they were to winning seemed to buoy their spirits.”
Unfortunately, the Lady Dogies weren’t able to close the gap and dropped the set and match with a 9-15 loss.
Newcastle ended the weekend 1-1 in Northeast Quadrant play, which makes them tied with Buffalo for second place in the standings. This week the squad will take on Southeast Quadrant teams when they travel to Torrington for a matchup with the Lady Blazers on Friday and then host the Wheatland Lady Bulldogs on Saturday beginning with the C Team contest at noon.