LINGLE – The Homecoming rivalry between the hosting Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) Lady Doggers and the Southeast Lady Cyclones came down to a fifth-set tiebreaker following four hotly contested sets on October 3.
Both teams came to play on Friday and talent and hustle was more than evident in each player stepping onto the court.
Southeast won a neck-and-neck first set, 25-23.
The Lady Cyclones led for most of the second set. LFL fought to close the gap and matched Southeast in scoring at 23 and 24 before the Lady Doggers scored two decisive points to take the second set, 26-24.
A fast-paced third set resulted in the Lady Doggers winning by six, 25-19.
Digging deep, the Lady Cyclones rallied in the fourth set to take control of the scoreboard at seven and remain ahead through game point, 25-14.
The cross-county rivals stepped up for the fifth set. The lead switched hands point by point as both teams brought their A-game to the court in an epic showdown for the win. The set tied a final time at 14. LFL scored two points to take the set, 16-14, and punch in a 3-2 conference victory.
The five-set matchup was a “great game,” LFL coach Emily Cottrell said.
“I am extremely proud of the way our team stayed focused, worked together and continued to play with poise and confidence throughout five sets,” Cottrell added. “I made some positional changes the last two weeks that really impacted our effectiveness defensively so we could increase our offensive threat. The girls did a great job handling the pressure and they responded without it holding them back. I have a lot of respect for Coach Anderson and the healthy rival we have with Southeast. I cannot wait to meet them again in a few weeks.”
Southeast coach Monica Anderson called the matchup "a good, competitive game."
"The Lingle girls showed up and competed hard, which is to be expected every time we meet," Anderson said. "As I reflected on the match a couple things stood out to me. We struggled with serve receive which is uncharacteristic for us. We had solid leads in the second and third sets, but we safed up and let them slip away."
"As we approach the end of our season, we need to become consistent in playing our game until the last point is scored," Anderson added. "Overall, I was proud of the girls because they came back strong every set. It was really good for us to play five sets as we haven’t gone to five yet this year. I’m looking forward to the rematch in a couple of weeks."
First two sets
Southeast opened the first set with a 3-1 run, including kills by senior Hadley Leithead and junior Bailey Mehling.
LFL pulled up and tied the set at three before taking the lead, 5-3, with a pair of aces from senior Hallie Fuller.
Sophomore Shaylyn Wunder defended the net for LFL with a block and teammate and senior Skyla Wunder slammed a kill to place the Lady Doggers ahead, 8-4.
LFL remained in the lead with a pair of kills by junior Addison Wilkins. Fellow junior Charlotte Speckner powered over a kill for the Lady Doggers and LFL widened its lead, 14-8.
Southeast responded with an 8-4 run to tie the set at 18. Junior Brylie Booth, Mehling and sophomore Briley Leithead each spiked kills for the Lady Cyclones while Hadley Leithead reached up for a block.
A block by Mehling allowed Southeast to regain the lead, 19-18.
LFL matched the Lady Cyclones in scoring at 20 and recaptured the lead, 21-20, with a kill from Fuller.
The set deadlocked again at 21 before LFL took the lead, 22-21.
A block by LFL sophomore Hayden Willey tied the set at 22.
Hadley Leithead delivered a kill and the Lady Cyclones pulled back up, 23-22.
Charlotte Speckner tipped a point and the set reached another stalemate at 23.
Southeast answered back with a kill by senior Keana Llewellyn.
Mehling aced a serve for Southeast to score game point, 25-23.
In the second set, Southeast controlled the scoreboard through 23, anchored by kills from Hadley Leithead, Briley Leithead and Mehling. Hadley Leithead also aced two serves while Booth blocked an attempt by LFL to score.
The Lady Doggers battled back to tie the set at 23 following kills from Wilkins and Charlotte Speckner and two aces by Fuller.
Hadley Leithead slammed a kill and Southeast led, 24-23.
The game tied at 24 when the Lady Cyclones sent the ball out.
Charlotte Speckner stepped up to the service line and scored two aces, including game point, 26-24.
Overall, the game reached a 1-1 deadlock.
Sets three and four
The third set commenced with a 6-1 run by the Lady Cyclones with kills from Hadley Leithead, Briley Leithead and junior Haylee Ekwall along with two aces by Mehling.
LFL rallied with a 9-3 run to tie the set at 10. Skyla Wunder and Shaylyn Wunder both spiked kills. Charlotte Speckner aced a serve and Shaylyn Wunder reached up for a block.
The Lady Doggers took control of the scoreboard, 13-10, with blocks from Charlotte Speckner and Willey and an ace by senior Jordynn Speckner.
Southeast fired back with a kills from Mehling and an ace by Booth to match LFL in scoring at 15.
The Lady Doggers regained the advantage with a 4-1 run. Skyla Wunder powered over a kill. Charlotte Speckner tipped a point and Wilkins followed with a kill to place LFL ahead, 20-16.
Aces by Skyla Wunder took the Lady Doggers to 24.
Wilkins aced a serve for game point, 25-19.
The fourth set began with the lead changing hands several times. Southeast threw the first punch with an ace from Llewellyn.
Fuller replied with an ace for LFL and the set reached a stalemate at three.
The Lady Doggers took charge of the scoreboard, 5-3, when Fuller aced another serve and Shaylyn Wunder delivered a kill.
Southeast regained the lead, 7-5, following kills by Hadley Leithead and Booth, a block by Booth and an ace from Hadley Leithead.
The Lady Doggers matched Southeast in scoring at seven with a block by Shaylyn Wunder.
Ekwall aced a serve for Southeast and the Lady Cyclones pulled into the lead at eight.
Southeast maintained the lead for the remainder of the set. Kills by Booth and Hadley Leithead placed the Lady Cyclones ahead, 22-11.
A kill by Mehling took Southeast to 23. Senior libero Taylor Tregemba took the Lady Cyclones to 24 with a dig.
Briley Leithead slammed a kill for Southeast to score game point, 25-14, and the game reached a 2-2 tie.
Fifth set
Both the Lady Doggers and Lady Cyclones left it all on the court in a tight fifth set that came down to two points.
Southeast won the first volley when Hadley Leithead powered over a kill.
LFL pulled up, 3-1, with a kill by Skyla Wunder.
Haldey Leithead and Briley Leithead responded with a kill each and the set tied at three.
A kill by Skyla Wunder returned the lead to the Lady Doggers, 4-3.
Hadley Leithead answered back with a kill and the set reached a stalemate at four.
LFL pulled ahead, 7-5, with a 3-1 run anchored by a kill from Wilkins.
The Lady Doggers sent the ball out responding to a serve by Tregemba and the set tied again at seven.
Wilkins slammed a kill and LFL regained the advantage, 8-7.
Booth and Hadley Leithead both delivered a kill and Southeast pulled ahead, 9-8.
A block from Willey resulted in a 9-9 deadlock.
Hadley Leithead tipped a point over the net and the Lady Cyclones found themselves up again, 10-9.
A second block by Willey allowed LFL to match Southeast in scoring at 10.
Serving errors by both sides resulted in another deadlock at 12.
Shaylyn Wunder tipped a point and the Lady Doggers recaptured the lead, 13-12.
The set tied again at 13 and 14.
Southeast sent the ball out returning a serve by Skyla Wunder and LFL took the lead, 15-14.
Skyla Wunder set the ball over the net for the Lady Doggers to score game point, 16-14.
Full stats for LFL were not available at press time.
Southeast stats
Hadley Leithead led the Southeast offense against LFL with 18 kills over five sets. Booth tallied 10 kills, Mehling nine, Briley Leithead eight with two apiece from Llewellyn and Ekwall.
On the service line, Mehling collected four aces with two apiece from Hadley Leithead, Llewellyn and Booth. Ekwall rounded the tally out with one ace.
Mehling and Booth both reached up for three blocks while Hadley Leithead and Briley Leithead both totaled one block.
Tregemba and Booth both defended the backcourt with 21 digs while Llewellyn delivered 36 assists.
