Lady Loggers spike Polson on emotional Senior Night
<p>Dayln Germany and Coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston share a moment during senior night Saturday.</p>
Seven senior Lady Loggers celebrated their night in style Saturday by dispatching the Polson Pirates in three sets 25-11, 25-17, 25-18.
Libby got things rolling early in the first set with 14 of the team’s 38 kills. With the Lady Loggers leading 16-11, Hannah England served nine straight points, and Hailley Moe contributed three kills during the game-ending stretch.
Although Libby Coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston was uneasy about potential Senior Night distractions, she said later, “I was really proud of the girls for coming out so strong in the first set with it being Senior Night and all of the emotions running high. They wiped away the tears and played with pride and heart.”
It was a similar story in the second set, although the Lady Loggers had to claw back from a 9-5 deficit. After a Polson error gave Libby a tenuous 19-17 lead, England again ran off the last six points, capping it off with an ace.
Early in the third set, Hailey Craig had a service barrage of her own to put the Lady Loggers up 11-3. Polson slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the lead to 21-18, but two thunderous kills from Devon Gallagher and an ace from Mahalah Wedel put the game to rest.
“It was great to finish the season with a strong conference win,” Coach Ostrem-Johnston said. “I like how the team is coming together at the right time and other players like Devon, Cierra (Stewart) and Hailey Craig are really stepping up. Those extra reps before and after practice these hitters have been getting with Hannah are paying off.”
In addition to Moe’s 10 kills, Gallagher and Stewart both had nine.
“That is exactly what we want going into divisionals: several hitters contributing so the defense doesn’t know what is coming at them next,” Ostrem-Johnston said.
The Lady Loggers will draw upon a combined 23 varsity seasons of experience in their bid to go to the state tournament. Libby goes into divisionals, which they host, on a roll, having won four in a row and six out of their last seven contests. They will square off against the Frenchtown Broncs in the 1 p.m. match Friday.
Kills - Libby 38 (Moe 10, Gallagher, Stewart 9), Polson 21 (Chadelle Smith 10); Assists - Libby 34 (England 34), Polson 18 (Jaiden Toth 18); Digs - Libby 68 (Wedel 18), Polson 60 (Libby Clay 15); Blocks - Libby 3 (Gallagher, Stewart 2), Polson 1 (Nichole Lake); Aces - Libby 10 (England, Wedel 3), Polson 5 (Toth 2)