Seward Splits With Otero & Adams State

The Seward County Lady Saints spent their 2013 Halloween dressed up like what else… Lady Saints Volleyball players as they took on a pair of foes from Colorado in Otero and Adams State Thursday night in La Junta.  After being beaten on their home floor by Otero just two days prior, Seward wanted to set the record straight with the Rattlers, but were unable to do so as Otero took the match 3-1.  In the backend of their doubleheader, the Lady Saints took on Adams State's JV squad and had no problem with them, sweeping them in three sets to finish the night 1-1.   

Seward got off to a slow start against the Rattles, falling behind 7-4 early in the first.  The Lady Saints continued to trail throughout until an ace from Morgan Riley tied the set at 18.  Seward took their first lead of the set three points later on a block from Carolina Gasparini and Erika Gilbert to make it 21-20, but Otero scored five of the final six points of the set to come away with a 25-22 win. 

The Lady Saints looked much better early on in the second, jumping out to a 6-3 lead on the homestanding Rattlers.  The Lady Saints held the lead until the midway point when back to back attack errors gave Otero a 12-11 lead.  Seward bounced back though and after falling behind 14-11, scored seven straight points to take what looked like a commanding 18-14 lead.  Following a timeout, the Rattlers came back, tying the set at 21 before jumping back in front 23-21.  The teams traded points from there on out, but it wasn't good enough for Seward who fell 25-23. 

A slow start to the third again had the Lady Saints in a big hole early at 9-4.  They continued to battle however and after a pair of kills from Annelise Sanchez and an ace from Kristen Anderson they were back in business with the set tied at 9.  Otero won the middle portion of the set to take hold of the lead again at 19-13, but once again, the Lady Saints showed some spunk as they cut into the Rattler lead before eventually tying the set at 20 on an ace from Kari Anderson.  With momentum on their side, the Lady Saints finished the Rattlers off with a kill from Gasparini , extending the match with a 25-23 win. 

The fourth set was nip and tuck at the start with neither team holding more than a two point lead until back to back reception errors put Otero up 14-11.  That seemed to be the breaking point for the Lady Saints who saw Otero extend their lead to 21-14 before putting Seward away 25-18 to take the match 3-1. 

The Lady Saints hit just .107 as a team in the loss, despite a solid effort in the middle from Riley who finished with 12 kills and a .440 hitting percentage.  Kari Anderson had a team high 25 digs for Seward while Gasparini added 14 and Kristen Anderson 11. 

SEWARD COUNTY/OTERO BOX SCORE

Things got a little easier for the Lady Saints in their next match as they took on Adams State University's JV squad to wrap up the regular season.  Despite another slow start, the Lady Saints quickly got things under control, using an early 7-1 run to take a commanding 11-5 lead on the Grizzlies. After Adams State cut the Seward lead to 11-8, three straight Lady Saint points, two of them on Gasparini kills put Seward back in front 14-8.  Adams State never got any closer as the Lady Saints continued to roll, going on to win 25-12 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. 

Seward bolted out of the gates in the second, taking a 4-0 and then 7-1 lead after kills from Carolina Freitas and Sheree Ryan.  The Lady Saints continued to lead big throughout the set, opening up a 15-6 lead midway through and went up double digits at 24-14 before closing it out 25-14. 

There wasn't a whole lot more resistance in the third for the Lady Saints.  After a slow start, they stepped on the gas midway through, turning a 12-8 lead into a 16-8 advantage after a 4-0 run.  Seward remained up big the rest of the way and finished the set by scoring five of the last seven points to put the match away 25-12. 

The final numbers were much better for the Lady Saints in this one as they finished the match hitting .408, a season high, with 37 total kills and just 6 errors in the match.  Gasparini led Seward with 10 kills while Ryan tied a career high with 8.  Nacole Miller dished out 30 assists to lead the Lady Saints and Kelci Bedingfield had a match high 19 digs for Seward.  The Lady Saints registered 13 blocks as a team in the win, led by 8 from Riley and 5 from Ryan. 

SEWARD COUNTY/ADAMS STATE JV BOX SCORE

The Lady Saints finish the regular season at 21-15 with the split.  They will play their final home match of the 2013 season on Tuesday when they host Garden City to open up the Region VI Tournament.  The winner of the Seward/Garden match will then head to Hutchinson to compete in the Region VI Final Four with a berth to the NJCAA National Tournament on the line.