Lakeside overpowers Sheridan in conference match

Lakeside swept all three matches against Sheridan on Tuesday at the Lakeside Athletic Complex, gaining another win to bring them to 11-1 in conference play.

"They stayed on track," Lakeside head coach Rhonda Thigpen said. "We did a good job on ball control. These girls are very focused, and they're in a good place right now."

The teams traded service points with the Lady Yellowjackets (9-10, 5-6 5A South), who stayed within five points until the Lady Rams (20-1, 10-1) got behind Sarah Porter to bring the score to 15-7. Sheridan struggled to return the ball to the home team, allowing the Rams to stretch out to a 21-10 lead, and senior libero Molly Stineman to cap a win of the first set, 25-11.

"I feel like we didn't set it up enough," Sheridan head coach Emily Grimmett said. "We didn't attack. Our defense didn't get to the line to hit, and Lakeside's a very good offensive and defensive team. And if you don't play your best, there's not a chance that you're going to win."

Lakeside came out with a strong backline in the second set as Macy Landry helped the Lady Rams garner an early 8-0 lead, including four aces. The Rams contined to dominate the set as the Lady Yellowjackets were unable to pick up a point off a serve. Maddie Trusty and Mary Catherine Cowen each served up three, Trusty adding two aces and Cowen one, to push out to 20-5.

Sheridan junior defensive specialist Emma Patrick finally responded with two service points for the Lady Yellowjackets, but the Rams brought it home with service from Landry and Stineman, 25-8.

"We didn't read their defense very well, and even when we got a set up, we didn't adjust to their block really well," Grimmett noted. "It just wasn't a very good night for us."

Sheridan picked it up in the third, as Patrick served up three straight to open the set, including an ace, before Landry and Stineman turned the game around for a 7-5 lead.

The teams stayed neck-and-neck until Porter shut the Yellowjackets to push out to 14-9. Sheridan could not overpower Lakeside for the rest of the game as middle blocker Adachi Igbokidi, Trusty and Porter secured the net, allowing only one service point by senior libero Olivia Galyean before Stineman closed out the set, 25-13.

"They know where they want to be," Thigpen said. "They want to be at state; they want to stay on top in conference. As far as that goes, I'm proud. We missed some short serves, but traditionally, they serve four in a row and four in a row. So that helps you get a rhythm going with your hitters."

Setter Olivia Lawrence led the Rams with 17 assists and six kills, while Trusty had 13 kills, three assists and three digs. Igbokidi logged seven kills and three blocks, Porter had three kills and three blocks, and outside hitter Wesley Divers had three kills.

Stineman tallied four digs and one assist, middle blocker Katie Ballard had two kills, Cowen had two digs, setter Vivi Mardis had two assists and a dig, and outside hitter Claire Monte had two kills.

*The Lady Rams JV squad won both sets, 25-12, 25-12.

Last Thursday, the Rams took a 3-1 win over Benton on the road, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19.

Stineman led the team with a school-record 33 digs in the match. Trusty had a double-double with 23 kills and 20 digs, Landry had 14 digs, and Lawrence had 46 assists, 14 digs and five kills.

Cowen had 12 digs, Igbokidi added 10 kills and three blocks, Porter had 14 kills, and Katie Ballard finished with three kills.

Sports on 10/10/2019

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