Lady Bulldogs celebrate strong season on awards night

Head coach Tera Kostelecky wrapped up a successful 2024 volleyball season for the Lovell Lady Bulldogs during an awards night program on Thursday, Nov. 14, at the LHS Multipurpose Room.

The Lady Bulldogs qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2017 when the school was in Class 2A.

Among the highlights of the evening was the announcing of several team awards. Kostelecky presented a Class 3A West All-Conference award to sophomore Celeste Lindsay and all-conference honorable mention certificates to seniors Chaylee Betancourt and Kennadee Owens.

After passing out letter awards, Kostelecky presented statistical awards: most aces, senior Raegan May; most kills, Lindsay; most blocks, Betancourt; most digs, sophomore Kindle Collins; most assists, senior Kenadee Rael and sophomore Kira Collins.

Kostelecky announced freshman Claire Shumway as the Most Improved Player throughout the season and seniors Libby Mickelson and Rael as winners of the Bleed Blue Award.

She said the Bleed Blue Award is “for the athletes that show the most care about Lady Bulldog Volleyball adding, “These are the kids that put so much effort into all they do within their roles on the team.

“Kenadee got it because she is always positive and looks for the best in the team. In fact, this summer she said, ‘Coach, should I start practicing setting again?’ When I conversed with her, I mentioned how in the past she didn’t want to set. She said, ‘I will do whatever is best for the team.’ I didn’t take this lightly. In the beginning, I wasn’t planning on having her set but soon realized we needed her to be a setter. And she did it flawlessly, not for herself but for the team.

“Libby is the first to step up into a leadership role. Quickly girls gravitated to her and respected her. Libby and I were able to have adult conversations, and she was safe to talk to by the other kids. She is the girl that picks her teammates up and carries them as far as she can. She is positive and strong. She also did what was best for her team day in and day out. We had a different plan for the state competition. With illness and injury, Libby stepped up and did what she had to do. Again, selfless.”

The coach announced 10 winners of the Top Dog Awards, based on a point system. Leading the way with 226 points was Mickelson, and Kira Collins followed with 204 points. Other Top Dog winners were sophomore Jenna Hessenthaler, Kindle Collins, Rael, sophomore Hannity Felkins, sophomore Kandace Asay, Owens, freshman Janelle Hessenthaler and freshman Ali Walker.

“This is a competitive points accumulation starting in the preseason,” Kostelecky said. “In preseason, girls received points for attending open gym times, camps and weights. Then during the season, the points continued through competitive drills. Winning these gave them points. Also, when girls take the initiative and do for others without being asked, they receive points. Many times, when girls swept the floor or did something for their teammates that was not volleyball related, they received points.

“We kept the leader board available every practice so they could see where they were in comparison to the rest of the team. This helps drive competitiveness and want and will to win. Results will sometimes speak for themselves. You can see the improvements correlate with ability and skill development.”

She also named Addie Weber as the defensive player of the year for the freshman team, Avery Walker as the frosh offensive player of the year and Janelle Hessenthaler as the freshman super setter. For the junior varsity, Jenna Hessenthaler is the defensive player of the year, Brooklin Clark the offensive player of the year and Caitlyn Allen as the super setter.

Kostelecky recognized the freshman team for finishing the season with a perfect record and the junior varsity team for finishing with a near perfect record. As for the varsity team, she said the Lady Bulldogs made tremendous improvement, finishing above .500 and beating teams Lovell hasn’t beaten in years. The team beat Lander and Mountain View at Regionals and won the first set at State against eventual state champion Douglas.

Addressing the team, she added, “Spectators were seeing you be aggressive, scrappy, working as one unit, and more than that, recognizing that you never quit. And they are right. All season long you showed up. The future of Lovell volleyball is very bright.”

Many thanks

Kostelecky began the evening by thanking players, parents and guests for attending to celebrate “the incredible journey we’ve shared together this season,” noting, “It takes a village, and none of this would have been possible without each one of you. Thank you.

“As I reflect on the past season, I am filled with gratitude,” Kostelecky continued. “This year was not just about wins and losses; it was about growth, teamwork and the memories we created along the way. It was about building a foundation to unify Lovell volleyball. Each of you contributed to this journey, and I want to acknowledge that.”

The head coach thanked the players for their dedication, hard work and passion for the game, noting that they pushed themselves to improve, challenged each other and supported one another both on and off the court.

“You’ve not only developed as athletes but as individuals, learning valuable lessons about resilience, teamwork and leadership,” she said.

Kostelecky thanked the parents and the community for all of their support and encouragement, plus many activities associated with the season, calling them “the backbone of this program.” She gave special thanks to “team mom” Becky Rael for organizing food, coolers and dinners, plus many anonymous donors to the program.

She also thanked the Bulldog Booster Club and school administration for their support, the Rose City Netters for assisting with funds, Lovell Recreation for giving back, Lovell Dental for donating the pink game uniforms, athletic director Chris Edwards for all of his work, school secretary April Price, Jamie May for helping stream video when the program was not up and running, Katie Hernandez, Price and Tawnya Teter for their support, Stormy Jameson for her newspaper coverage, advice and “being eyes from the outside,” Lane Black-Partridge and Sher Jolley in the business office, Supt. Doug Hazen for support, principals Craig Lundberg (LHS) and William Hiser (LMS), the Betancourt and Edwards families, Joe Koritnik for his coverage, Robin Mickelson and other moms for decorating lockers and “helping wherever they can,” Jen Hessenthaler and Lindsay Lindsay for their help, plus others she may have accidentally left out.

And Kostelecky gave a very special thank you to assistant coaches Angie Hitz (freshmen) and Natalie Collins (JVs) for their volleyball knowledge, dedication, efforts and willingness throughout the season including “countless hours, nights without sleep and (work) sometimes considered thankless.” She thanked the two for helping with practices, matches and meetings, for keeping her on her toes and for all of the time dedicated to the program.

As for herself, Kostelecky called coaching the team an honor and a privilege and noted the players’ personal growth, the sisterhood they built, the lessons learned, the challenges overcome and the many special times.