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RANDOLPH - The Randolph Lady Cardinal volleyball team came, oh, so close, to their first win of the season here on Sept. 17 against Neligh-Oakdale.
After dropping the opening set, the Lady Cardinals won the next two sets to take the lead in the match, 2-1.
The Lady Warriors battled back in set four to force the “race to 15” for the match and Randolph came up just short, 15-10 in that final set.
Nelight-Oakdale won the first set 25-21; Randolph won sets two and three, 25-20 and 25-15 then the Lady Warriors won the fourth set 25-13.
“The first three sets is the best we have looked all season,” Randolph coach Lyndsee English said. “The team was having fun and the crowd was getting into it.”
English thought the anxiety surrounding the first win may have weighed on her team in the fourth set.
“We looked like we were playing a little tight,” English said. “Not hitting or being aggressive like we had done in the first three sets.”
The fifth set was back and forth until the score got to around 10-10 when Neligh-Oakdale pulled away to take the match.
“It was a heartbreaking loss,” the coach said. “But it was awesome to see our team showcase our true talent and give ourselves some confidence moving forward.”
Lexi Backhaus recorded a doubledouble in the loss with 11 set assists and 13 digs to go along with four kills.
Lilly Kuchta had an incredible nine ace serves in the match and Brooke Meier just missed a doubledouble with a season-high 19 assists and she added nine digs. Sydney Robinson had a season-high 22 digs.
On Sept. 19, the Lady Cardinals traveled to Wausa and lost in the best-of-five-sets match 25-23, 25-14 and 25-21.
“I felt like we made too many errors to put ourselves into a position where we could win,” English said. “Our serve receive seemed off compared to normal, our defense was slow getting into position and we weren’t attacking the ball very well.”
The Lady Cardinals did play the first and third sets competitively, but eventually fell in the sweep.
“I think if we would have played like we did against Neligh-Oakdale, we would have won that match,” English said.
Greiner hit seven winners, Backhaus and Mabel Ngebeh each added three.
Backhaus and Meier set up the Lady Cardinal hitting attack with eight and seven assists respectively.
Randolph is set to return to the court in a triangular in Wakefield on Sept. 24 taking on the Lady Trojans and the Lady Blujays of Walthill in the first two matches of the evening.
The Lady Cardinals return to Randolph for match with O’Neill St. Mary’s on Sept. 26.
Wausa (2-5) defeats Randolph (0-12) 25-23, 25-14, 25-21.
RANDOLPH LEADERS: Sydney Robinson 2 Ace Serves, 7 Digs; Brooke Meier 2 Ace Serves, 7 Set Assists; Katarina Greiner 7 Kills, 4 Blocks; Lexi Backhaus 3 Kills, 8 Set Asists; Mabel Ngebeh 3 Kills, 9 Digs; Lilly Kuchta 2 Kills, 3 Digs. Neligh Oakdale (4-6) defeats Randolph 25-21, 20-25, 15-25, 25-13, 15-10. RANDOLPH LEADERS: Greiner 10 Kills, 5 Blocks, 7 Digs; Backhaus 4 Kills, 11 Set Assists, 13 Digs; Ngebeh 7 Kills, 2 Blocks, 11 Digs; Robinson 4 Kills, 22 Digs; Kuchta 9 Ace Serves, 5 Kills, 8 Digs; Meier 19 Set Assists, 9 Digs.
