Lady Loggers' serving key in win over Eureka
Stepping up to the service line in a tight match against Eureka, Libby senior Alex Kulbeck proved that she can do a whole lot more than make kills and blocks at the net.
Kulbeck came up with an ace serve to hold off Eureka in a close fourth game and to take the match, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 28-26, on Thursday night in a nonconference meeting.
“That was one of our best-serving matches,” Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston said afterward. “I was really pleased with that because we served a good solid 93 percent with 22 aces.”
Kulbeck had six of those aces and served 94 percent.
The Lady Loggers rallied from a 10-7 deficit in the first game. After Libby battled back, the two schools exchanged leads on several occasions. Trailing 22-21, the Loggers took control late with four straight points to end the game. Junior Chelsea Bowe served for the final three points and the game ended on a Becky Boulware kill.
In the second game, Libby never trailed but did see a good lead disappear into an 18-18 tie at one point. The Loggers responded and with a 20-19 lead, scored the game’s final five points to take a 2-0 advantage. Kulbeck served for two aces and Eureka’s passing game broke down on the final two points.
The Lions made a statement in the third game by shooting out to an early lead. Libby countered with six straight points during one stretch to take a 17-14 lead with Boulware serving. But Eureka finished strong and scored the game’s final eight points behind the strength of junior Selene Elster.
The two schools played close in what turned out to be the final game. Libby seemingly had the match in control with a 24-21 lead but the Lions fought back to tie it. Elster had kills to tie the game on points 25 and 26 but unforced errors hurt the Lions in the end. Kulbeck’s ace ended it.
“It was good to get a win and see some of these kids playing at a higher level,” Ostrem-Johnston said. “Chelsea Bowe had a good night and Becky Boulware played well, too.”
Kulbeck had a big match with 16 kills, 11 digs and those six aces. Boulware finished with six kills, a .357 attack percentage, three blocks and 100-percent serving. Kim Tangen had six kills, 10 digs and a 2.00 serve-receive ratio. Lexi Hageness had four aces, 94-percent serving and 29 set assists. Bowe ended up with four aces, 100-percent serving and nine digs. Alyssa Walker had a team-high 12 digs and Lauren Wepprecht served 100 perecent.
Elster finished with 23 kills for the Lions.
Libby took a 1-5 conference record and 4-6 overall record into a Tuesday match at Columbia Falls. The Lady Loggers will host Whitefish on Thursday for Senior Night. The action begins at 4:15 p.m., with non-varsity matches. The match was rescheduled from Friday.
Libby 3, Eureka 1
Thursday at Tate Gymnasium
Scoring by Games:
Eureka 22 19 25 26
Libby 25 25 18 28
Kills–Eureka 41 (Elster 23), Libby 35 (Kulbeck 16). Blocks–Eureka 10 (Mikita 6), Libby 5 (Boulware 3). Digs–Eureka 57 (Morgan 18), Libby 58 (Walker 12), Assists–Eureka 37 (White 13), Libby 30 (Hageness 29). Aces–Eureka (Morgan 2, Mikita 2, White 2), Libby 22 (Kulbeck 6).