Netters split with conference opponents
Hold 4-1 league record going into final matches of regular season
The Lady Buffs split with Rocky Mountain and Thermopolis in two tight, competitive matches played last weekend.
Before a loud, hometown crowd Friday, Greybull beat Rocky in four sets, 25-20, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, but lost to the Lady Bobcats in Thermopolis Saturday five, 25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 25-13, 12-15.
“Two great matches this weekend with mixed outcomes,” said Coach Sara Schlattmann. “Our girls put out a lot of effort, that is for sure. I was very proud of our overall performance against Rocky. We served phenomenal at 96%.” According to Schlattmann, almost every Greybull player served above 90%, a mark not seen very often.
Leading the way were Shayne Cheatham, Julie Lopez, Fatima Chavez, Camila Acuna and Aleksey McColloch, who were all perfect from the service line. Lopez added four aces to her stats.
Leading the attack was Perla Rodriguez with 19 kills followed by Marlee Henson with 10, McColloch with eight and Acuna with seven.
Wyatt Whaley finished the match with 40 assists and “did a great job of spreading out the offense,” according to her coach.
Ellie Holloway led the defense with four blocks and Fatima Chavez had 16 digs.
“We dug a couple of holes for ourselves during this match,” Schlattmann noted, “allowing them to go on some pretty big runs. This has been plaguing us all season really. It is an area of focus for sure this week, the need to get out of serve receive. We tend to get very conservative when the momentum shifts away from us. But it was a great conference win and certainly better positions us in the conference.”
As for Saturday’s match with Thermopolis, “We were very sporadic as far as overall performance” said the coach. She explained that there were times when the Buffs “looked as good as they have” but also times when “we showed our young age and inexperience.”
Schlattmann said they allowed the Bobcats to go on multiple long runs and in the end, Schlattmann said, “that is what got us. We were up 12-9 in the fifth set and just couldn’t put it away.”
Despite this, the coach said she saw some great things from her athletes. “I know that we will continue to improve. We didn’t do quite as well against Thermop, but still over 90%.” Whaley led, going 25 of 25 with two aces; McColloch was 21 of 21 with an ace.
Whaley also had 38 assists.
In kills, McColloch had 12, Acuna eight and Rodriguez seven.
Defensively, Chavez, once again, led with 14, followed by McColloch with six.
“We had an unusually large number of blocking errors,” Schlattmann said. “And it was not our best passing performance. There was a lot of hesitation and communication errors. Those are all things we can work to correct as we head toward regionals and this weekend.”
The Buffs host Tongue River tonight; as the final home match, the Buff senior athletes will be recognized.
Friday, they will head to Shoshoni to take on the Lady Blue in the final conference game of the year.
“We need to be playing our best these next few weeks,” said Schlattmann. “It is what we work for all season and we have certainly improved a lot, but there is more work to be done. I think they will respond to last weekend’s loss and work to make some needed changes to better compete.
“The Tongue River match gives us a sense of how we are playing in comparison to the east side of the state. They have a very strong conference. The Shoshoni match will decide seeding for the regional tournament. Lots of exciting matches coming up.”