Netters miss out

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
As the four seed heading into last weekend’s 3A East Regional Volleyball Tournament in Torrington, the Lady Dogies knew they were in for an uphill climb in order to extend their season another week. 
However, having played pretty competitively with teams on their side of the bracket recently, head coach Ashley Reed and her team felt confident in their potential to upset a higher seed in their quest to qualify for the state tournament.
While the squad did just that, they still came up just one win shy of going to the Big Dance.
The ladies started the tournament on Friday afternoon with a daunting opponent in the number one seeded Rawlins Lady Outlaws from the Southeast Quadrant. As action got underway, Newcastle put pressure on the higher ranked team, making them work for every point they earned. In the long run, however, the weapons and the talent of the Carbon County squad proved too much for Lady Dogies and they dropped the match in three straight sets.
“Our first set against Rawlins went phenomenally well,” Reed exclaimed. “We went point for point with them until about 13, and then they started getting some runs on us and that’s how it ended. But I couldn’t have imagined coming out with a better start than that.”
The loss against the eventual 3A East champions put the Lady Dogies into the loser-out game on Saturday morning against Burns. This is a team that Newcastle had seen twice this season, and against whom they had not won a set.
Despite the head-to-head record, the Lady Dogies felt confident facing off against the Lady Broncs because in both of their previous meetings, Newcastle had been without a vital member of their starting squad.
“When we played them early in the season we were without Isabel [Frank], one of our setters, and last time we didn’t have Claire [Beastrom],” Reed began. “Even though we had yet to beat them, the girls were stoked and feeling good going in to Saturday morning’s game.”
The Lady Dogies started out behind in all three sets of the match, but came roaring back in each to take the win 25-23, 25-17 and 25-21. In set three, Honesty Olson served 25 times, which included a 10 point run where her prowess behind the line dug her team out of an eight point deficit to move ahead two.
“Once we got two points ahead in each set, it was as if the girls knew they had the win and went on to claim it,” Reed smiled. “They all stayed together and stayed positive and executed like they needed to. They just pulled everything together and played some pretty good volleyball.”
With the win, the Lady Dogies not only exacted revenge on the Lady Broncs for the two earlier losses, but also pulled off the upset and kept their season alive as they advanced to the next loser-out contest against the Torrington Lady Trailblazers.
Unfortunately, the Lady Dogies made too many unforced errors on their own side of the net, handing the Lady Blazers points. Serving percentage for the team dropped from the tournament average of 92 percent to 85 percent and uncharacteristic mistakes, given how they had played in the first two sets, added to the problem. 
“We just made silly mistakes like sending tipped or free balls into the net, or just letting balls drop without making a play for them,” Reed explained. “I think it was tough playing against the home team, and I think it dawned on the girls that this was it. If we win we go to state, but if we lose we’re done.”
Once again, the match was over in three sets, but this time with Newcastle on the losing end and their 2018 season came to a close.
“Though we didn’t make it to the state tournament, we played some really good volleyball at Regionals,” Reed declared. “I really don’t think they understood how much they could accomplish as a team, but they started to figure that out in the first set against Rawlins and the whole match against Burns. We can do some great things when we play together, and we can be a really good team.”
Looking back on the season, Reed pointed out that her team had come a long way from when they started and had grown through adversity throughout.
“Man, they’ve been through a lot,” she sighed. “We’ve had so many changes with girls moving into different positions, sometimes on the fly, and I’ve been proud how they all stepped into new roles when I’ve asked it of them. They all just accepted and embraced their role on the team, and I’m so proud of them for that.”
One bright spot Reed identified from the unusual demands made of her squad is a lot of kids saw varsity time this year. Thirteen girls played throughout the year, which doesn’t happen often. 
“Usually it’s only about your top seven or eight girls that see time on the varsity floor, but not this year,” Reed nodded. “That also helped the girls to be flexible in what they are playing, and it will be great for us going forward.”
Another positive for the team is that they will only lose middle hitter/blocker Lauren Steveson from this year’s squad. 
“Lauren was a huge part of our team this year, and she will leave some pretty big shoes to fill,” Reed admitted. “She will certainly be missed, but we have so much to build on for next season.”