Photo Courtesy: Ed Bailey
Mario Cabrera
Student Sports Media
With the last two games going the Grizzlies way, they were set for the regional game against Colby at Colby on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The first set was not an impressive one for the Grizzlies to say the least, the Grizzlies lost 25-7. The Grizzlies also lost the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-22. This ended the women’s volleyball season. Score leaders in the match were freshman Brooke Fender, who had seven kills, as well as freshman Kinzee Mayo added five kills. On the defensive side, freshman Abby Goodrum had 18 digs, and Fender added seven.
With the season coming to a close, the Grizzlies ended the season on a high note. Getting the next two wins put them on to face Colby, a team they split during the regular season 1-1 and a matchup the Grizzlies want.
The Lady Grizzlies played Seminole State College for the first of the two final games in the regular season on Wednesday Oct. 26. The Grizzlies came out victorious by sweeping Seminole three sets to one (25-22, 25-13, 25-19). Attack leaders in this match were freshmen Nicole Klusener and Mayo having nine kills each, sophomore Cassie Paul adding seven, and freshmen Hayley Leeper with eight.
“We started off a lot slower than we should have,” Head Coach Rick Younger said. “They (Seminole State College) are one of those teams that if you let them hang around long enough they’re gonna play, so we just wanted to put ‘em away.”
The Grizzlies were on a good roll ready to play their last regular season match against Pratt on Sunday, Oct. 27, needing this win to play Colby in Regionals. The Grizzlies swept Pratt three sets to zero, (25-14, 25-23, 25-17.) Sophomore Cassie Pauls led with 10 kills and freshman Kinzee Mayo also added nine kills. On the defensive side, freshman Abby Goodrum had 26 kills and freshman Katie Dyer also added nine.
“I thought we did well in the first and third sets,” Coach Younger said. “The second set we needed to get more intense, but we got it done and at this point of the season that is all that matters.”
The Grizzlies finish the season with an overall record of 20-13 a .606 winning percentage and going 6-10 in conference games. The Grizzlies were much better at home all season going 7-4 and on the road a record of 3-7. When it came to neutral courts, the Grizzlies went 10-2. The Grizzlies had an average of 11.2 kills per set and hit .171 throughout the whole year.