The Langford Area volleyball squad wasn’t a pushover for perennial power Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the Region 1B tournament played last week Tuesday in Mellette.
The Lady Lions, who finished the season with a 9-20 record, battled the 31-5 Wildcats despite losing in straight sets 25-14, 25-12, 25-8. Northwestern lost to Hitchcock-Tulare 3-1 in the regional semifinals.
SoDak 16 matches were played last night Tuesday to determine state tournament qualifiers. Hitchcock-Tulare, 30-2, was seeded third and battled #14 Herreid-Selby, while Warner was the other Region 1B entrant and seeded #2 with a 30-4 mark, taking on #15 Faulkton Area.
The girls headed to Northwestern with a great attitude and played hard,” said LA coach Susan Larson. “The first two sets we hung right in there, and the score didn’t really reflect the battle we put up. The girls played hard and didn’t give up trying. That’s one of the things I really appreciated about them this season - their effort and mind set. They improved a lot over the season and they were fun to coach and fun to watch.”
LA was also a young squad with Eliana Darling the only senior on the roster.
“We’re going to miss Eliana, but it’s exciting to think that most of the starters will be returning next year,” noted Larson. “It’s fun to think about what their season will look like if they continue to work hard, improve and grow. Proud of this team and the season they had.”
The Lady Lions missed just two serves in the match, hitting 34-36. Clarissa Guy and Paytyn Marlow led the way, both serving 6-6, and Alex Darling was 5-6 with an ace. Emily Olson had a good night at the net, hitting 12-14 with four kills, and Eliana Darling added 16-18 with a pair of kills.
Paytyn Marlow was 50-51 in the set department with seven assists and had 12 digs. Alex Darling also added 12 digs and Eliana Darling had 10 and two blocked shots. Mariah Tosse and Olson also had two blocks each.
SERVING: LA, 34-36, 1 ace (Alex Darling 5-6, 1 ace; Clarissa Guy 6-6, Paytyn Marlow 6-6, Lizzie Gustafson 5-5, Eliana Darling 4-4)
HITTING: LA, 71-81, 11 kills (Emily Olson 12-14, 4 kills; E. Darling 16-18, 2 kills; Gustafson 23-25, 1 kill; Autumn Wegleitner 8-11, 1 kill)
SETTING: LA, 78-80, 10 assists (Marlow 50-51, 7 assists; Guy 20-21, 2 assists; E. Darlingt 7-7, 1 assist)
DIGS: LA, 56 (Marlow 12, A. Darling 12, E. Darling 10, Guy 9, Gustafson 8)
BLOCKS: LA, 6 (E. Darling 2, Mariah Tosse 2, Olson 2)
