Lady Bulldogs sweep the week

The Lady Bulldogs again show their relentless pursuit of back-to-back state championships in the 3A division this week. Lovell not only swept Powell Thursday but also Columbus, Montana, on Saturday.

“We had a couple key players out due to injury, and the team adapted to fill uncomfortable roles well,” head coach Tera Kostelecky said. With key players out, “we overcame some mental battles. Our girls were able to face some adversity and see their personal strengths,” she said.

The match against Powell was a barnburner. The Lady Panthers put up a catfight, but the bite of the Bulldogs was too tough for the rival Powell.

 Set one was close from start to finish, but with the two rivals tied 23-23, Avery Walker hammered a spike, and the Lady Bulldogs rose at the net for a block as the Lady Bulldogs prevailed, 25-23.

The next two sets proved that cats are cool but dogs rule. Powell led for most of the first half of the second set, but trailing 12-10, Lovell reeled off eight straight points to lead 18-12, then went on to win 25-15, outscoring Powell 15-3 down the stretch. The Lady Bulldogs led from start to finish in the third set, finishing off the visitors from Powell 25-16.

The Lady Bulldogs next faced the Columbus Cougars on Saturday in Montana, and “cats are cool but dogs rule” rang true again. Kostelecky said the team “played a lot of out-of-system balls against Columbus, which was great to see, as having to be scrappy is a great characteristic of championship teams.”

Columbus came out swinging, challenging Lovell in the first set, which ended at 27-25. However, the Lady Cougars ran out of steam against the relentless Lady Bulldog offense, leading to Lovell’s 25-17 victory in the second set. Columbus tried to claw its way to at least one set victory, challenging the bite of Lovell, but ultimately fell 25-23, ending a weekend of sweeps for the Lady Bulldogs.

This week, the Lady Bulldogs will take part in the Conference Duals in Mountain View on Friday and Saturday.