Lady Cougars kick off season in tournament play
Over the weekend, the Rosebud-Lott Lady Cougars volleyball team participated in an in-season tournament hosted by Cameron Yoe.
They played three games on Thursday and went 1-2 on the day. They defeated the Milano Lady Eagles 2-1. Rosebud-Lott won the first set 25-19, lost the second set 25-20, and then won the third set 25-16. Then they took on the Bremond Lady Tigers and were swept 2-0, losing the first set 25-18 and the second set 25-12. Their final game of the day was against the Lady Bears of Brentwood Christian, and they lost 2-0, losing 25-13 in the first set and 25-12 in the second.
Their next game would be on Saturday against the Granger Lady Lions and fell 2-1. The first point of the first set went to the Lady Cougars. Granger took a 4-1 lead, but Mercedes Buhl (11) came through with a kill to make it a 4-2 deficit, then the Lady Cougars took the lead 5-4. The set stayed even until Rosebud-Lott fell 13-10. They tried to stay in the match with a kill by Buhl for 16-11 deficit, and came back to make the score 16-14. Kayley Robertson (3) kept the team in the game with a great kill for a score of 19-17. Kaitlyn Jenkins (8) kept the Lady Cougars alive with a kill for a 22-19 deficit, but they could not catch up and fell 25-20 in the first set.
“We were giving away too many free balls, too many opportunities for them to bring the ball back,” said Coach Amanda Spencer. “Just giving them free balls, and not placing the ball, and missing serves. Just the basics.”
Rosebud-Lott came out much stronger in the second set as the first six points went to the Lady Cougars and soon gained a 7-1 lead. Granger came back and the score became 7-4, but the Lady Lions momentum was stopped with a big kill by Brightan Willberg (9) for an 8-5 lead. The lead continued to grow and got up to13-8 with an ace by Illeana Rodriguez (1). That would soon be followed with a block by Robertson for a 16-8 lead, which was soon followed with another block by Buhl for a double digit 18-8 lead. The lady Cougars kept up there momentum with an impressive tip over kill by Robertson for a 19-10 lead. The Rosebud-Lott lead went back up to double digits with a nice block by Willberg for a 23-13 lead, and they went on to win the second set 25-15 off failed serve by Granger.
“We hardly missed any serves,” Spencer said. “In the first six points that we scored we sent one free ball back. Anytime you’re eliminating some free balls, you up your chances. Blocking was better in the second set and our focus was better.”
The Lady Cougars got off to a good start in the third set as the first two points went to Rosebud-Lott and they took a 4-2 lead. Granger then tied the set at 4 and took the lead 6-5. Buhl kept her team in the fight with a kill to cut their deficit to 11-9. The game stayed close, and got even closer off a clutch ace by Kaitlyn Jenkins for a score of 13-12, then battled to tie the game at 15. The Lady Cougars took back the lead 18-17, but lost the lead 23-22. They could not retake the lead and lost a tough one 25-23 to lose the game.
“We went right back to what we were doing in the first set,” Spencer said. “Sending free balls over and staying on our heels. We missed quite a few serves near the end of the game where it matters the most. We have a lot of youth on the court as far as playing experience. We’re adjusting our lineups, trying to figure out what’s going to be the best way to mesh basically.”
Their next game would be against the JV team for Cameron Yoe, and Rosebud-Lott swept them, winning 25-20 in the first set and 25-22 in the second. Their final game of the day and the tournament would be against the Milano Lady Eagles and were swept 2-0, losing 26-24 in the first set and 25-9 in the second.
After a road matchup on Tuesday with the Lady Lions of Central Texas Christian, the Lady Cougars will be hosting an in-season tournament this weekend from Thursday through Saturday.