Lovell netters go 3-1 at Lander Invitational

The Lovell High School varsity volleyball team had a strong start to the season over the weekend by going 3-1 at the Lander Invitational.

“Overall, the weekend met my expectations,” head coach Tera Kostelecky said. “I am extremely proud of the girls and their work ethic and desire to compete.”

The Lady Bulldogs opened play against Wyoming Indian on Friday and swept the three sets 25-15, 25-10, 25-9.

“We knew we could use this match to get our feet wet and try new things,” Kostelecky said. “We were able to successfully establish our rotations and see the benefits of running a quicker offense.”

After easily beating the Lady Chiefs, Lovell faced the Lady Eagles from Lyman and knew they would be more competitive.

Kostelecky said the goal for the match was to gain momentum and keep it while remaining positive and confident in themselves.

“We basically went into it with nothing to lose,” she said.

The game was definitely competitive as both teams traded points back and forth in the exciting five set thriller.

The Lady Bulldogs dropped set one 25-22 but bounced back and took set two, 25-21.

Lyman took advantage of some missed opportunities by the Lady Bulldogs in the third set to cruise to a 25-15 win and put them one set away from victory.

But the Lady Bulldogs dug deep to win 25-21 in the fourth set and force the deciding fifth set.

Both squads battled to the end, and Lovell sealed the 16-14 win.

“As we went set for set, we were able to experience the joy of working hard, never quitting and playing to the end,” said Kostelecky. “It was definitely a high point of the weekend.”

Better passing led to Celeste Lindsay, Libby Mickelson and Raegan May all having double-digit kills in the game at the net.

The new defense the team has implemented has proven to be successful so far, and Kostelecky has said the team is adjusting well and in better positions to dig.

On Saturday morning, the Lady Bulldogs suffered their only tournament loss, falling to Pinedale in four sets, 25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20.

“We were a bit sluggish at the start against another strong opponent and still pushed them to extra sets,” Kostelecky said. “We learned some silly errors we need to work on, but it gave us a good perspective of how we can grow.”

To cap off the tournament, Lovell got back on track and in the win column as they breezed by Big Piney 25-10, 27-25, 25-18.

“It wasn’t the best game, but we were able to pull it out while we struggled,” she said, noting the team experimented with different rotations and playing alternate positions in the match.

Sophomore middle blocker Lindsay tallied the most kills on the weekend with 37 and added six blocks.

Mickelson and May also had strong showings offensively with 29 and 28 kills apiece, while May also had 12 aces, and Mickelson chipped in three aces and four blocks.

Kindle Collins had the libero responsibilities in all of the games and carried the serve receive load on defense.

“She did a great job on defense and leading our back row,” Kostelecky said of the libero. “Kira Collins and Kenadee Rael shared the setting roles and put balls where our hitters could be successful.”

Complete statistics for assists and digs were not available before this story went to press.

Kindle Collins compiled 12 aces and 6 kills while her twin sister Kira had a team-high 19 aces.

Chaylee Betancourt had nine aces, 14 kills and nine blocks, and Breeah Jones added four kills and five blocks.

Rael aced opponents 10 times, and Kennadee Owens had an ace, 14 kills and nine blocks.

“Overall, each girl played a part and contributed to our successes at the start of our season,” Kostelecky noted.

JV squad

The junior varsity also fared well in Lander and never dropped a set in their best two out of three contests.

Lovell beat Wyoming Indian 25-8, 25-10, then stopped Lyman 25-13, 25-10 on Friday afternoon.

On Saturday morning, the Lady Bulldog JV took down Pinedale 25-14, 25-19 and then pounded Big Piney 25-13, 25-8.

“It was a great start to the season, and we played really well in Lander,” JV coach Natalie Collins said. “We had several players who served multiple aces in a row, and other teams struggled passing our serves.”

Moving forward, coach Collins would like to work on blocking and specialty hits and plays in the next few weeks but is excited for the season.

Freshmen

The Lovell freshman team traveled to Powell on Saturday for five best-of-three matches and made a clean sweep of the competition.

They took on the host team Powell and won 21-13, 21-16, then easily took down Riverton 21-11, 21-6.

Against Cody, the Lady Bulldogs won 21-10, 21-10 and then were victorious 21-8 and 21-9 over Worland.

In the final game, Lovell creamed Lander 21-17 and 21-9 to cap off the day.

“I am very pleased with how well we played on Saturday,” freshmen coach Angie Hitz said. “This is a competitive group, and their future is bright.”

Coach Kostelecky said, “We are rising together at all levels, and that is the ultimate goal.”

GREYBULL

The Lady Bulldogs didn’t get much rest as they had a quick turnaround to play in Greybull on Tuesday night.

Lovell won the contest in four sets, 25-17, 25-14, 21-25, 25-18.

Kindle Collins had three aces while Kira Collins had two.

Betancourt also had four aces, seven kills and eight blocks for a solid performance.

Mickelson led the way with 14 kills and added four blocks at the net, while May compiled two aces, eight kills and a block.

Jones had three blocks and a kill, Lindsay had one ace, six kills and eight blocks and Owens had four kills and four blocks.

The duo of Rael and Kira Collins handled the majority of setting, and each had double digit assists in the match.

Kostelecky said the team intends to improve their overall communication and trust on the court and eliminating unforced mental errors moving forward.

The Lady Bulldogs have just one match this weekend, traveling north to meet Columbus, Montana, Saturday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The freshmen play at Greybull tonight (Thursday) at 6:15 p.m.