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Jan Schultz | Johnson Publications
Members of Chase County’s SPVA runner-up team are, front from left, Hope Brosius, Kora Weiss, Alexis Richmond, Kamrie Dillan, middle from left, Ali McNair, Liz Reeves, Chloe Dillan, Lucy Spady, Jerzee Milner, back from left, Assistant Coach Kristi McNair, Bryn McNair, Joee Clevenger, Giselle Acuna, Kaylie Lotspeich, Head Coach April Lambert and Assistant Coach Morgan Gockley.

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Jan Schultz | Johnson Publications
Lucy Spady blocks a Bulldog tip in the SPVA championship match Saturday.

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Jan Schultz | Johnson Publications
Kora Weiss serves during Chase County’s semifinal match against Hershey.

Longhorn volleyball takes second at SPVA tournament

On Sept. 19 the Chase County volleyball team was 1-8 and the SPVA conference tournament seemed a long way away.
Fast forward one month to Oct. 17 and CCS is 15-12 and runners-up in the conference.
    “The good news is the season is long, and there’s a lot of weeks to figure things out and get better,” Head Coach April Lambert said.
    “I always knew we had it in us to be here, but some years are just more of a process than others,” she said.
    North Platte St. Pat’s was originally the top seed in the tournament but withdrew the day before. Teams were reseeded, leaving No. 4 seed CCS to face No. 5 Kimball to open the tournament and placing top-seeded Hershey as the Lady Longhorns semifinal foe.
    CCS dispatched Kimball (3-0) in a sweep.
    Alexis Richmond opened up the first set with a seven-point run from the service line, including two aces. CCS won the set 25-11.
    The Lady Longhorns had to work harder in the second set. CCS trailed by two before two aces by Jerzee Milner tied the match at 18. Milner led the Lady Longhorns to a 23-18 advantage and Chase County won the set 25-19.
    Bryn McNair paced CCS with 15 kills. Milner led Chase County with 17 assists.
    Lambert said her team really wanted to get the “W” in the opener and go to bat with Hershey, a match CCS had been looking forward to.
    Hershey (13-7) was more of a challenge. CCS led 11-9 in the first set before three straight aces by Hershey flipped the advantage to the Panthers. Chase County tied the game at 19 and took the set 25-19.
    Though tied at 14, Hershey held the advantage for most of the second set which the Panthers won 21-25.
    “We got a little less aggressive on offense in the second set and resorted to tipping the ball,” Lambert said. “For the third set, we just knew we had to keep attacking and keep Hershey off the net and on their heels.”
    The strategy worked. A string of five Hershey attack errors opened up a 10-7 lead for the Lady Longhorns. Chase County increased the lead to 21-13 with kills by McNair, Richmond and Joee Clevenger.
    An ace by Clevenger and two kills by McNair sent CCS to the championship match with a 25-19 win.
    McNair and Richmond finished with double figure kills, 14 and 10, respectively.
    McNair had 19 and Milner 17 assists.
    No. 2 seed Bridgeport (19-9) awaited Chase County in the finals.
    CCS took it to the Bulldogs. The Lady Longhorns held a 20-9 advantage in the opening set. But Bridgeport’s luck would change when 6’2” Ruthie Loomis-Goltl was in the front row. The Bulldogs closed the CCS advantage to three points before a Chase County kill finished the first set 25-21.
    Bridgeport had four service errors to counter four CCS attack errors as the teams struggled to a 10-10 tie in the second set.
    The Lady Longhorns were able to open up a 16-12 lead before the Bulldogs came back to tie the game at 17. Five more ties followed before Bridgeport took the set 25-22.
    Hope Brosius and Clevenger served CCS to a 12-5 lead in the final set. When Loomis-Goltl returned to the front row, however, everything went Bridgeport’s way, as the Bulldogs went on a 1-16 run. Trailing 13-21, CCS pulled to within five points, 16-21, before the Bulldogs took the championship with a 25-17 win.
    Lambert said CCS knew Loomis-Goltl would be Bridgeport’s main threat.
    While timid and quiet in the first set, Lambert said, Loomis-Goltl came alive in the second and third.
    “We just couldn’t stop her at the net or on the dig,” Lambert said, pointing out that the majority of Bridgeport’s offense came from the sophomore.
    “When it wasn’t a kill it was enough to keep our offense out of system where we were having to send a lot of free balls,” Lambert said.
    “Her height was over our block, and we just couldn’t stop her once she got on a roll. She is a great hitter,” Lambert said.
    Loomis-Goltl tallied 22 kills of Bridgeport’s 34 kills in the match.
    McNair led CCS with 13 kills and had 11 assists. Milner led the Lady Longhorns with 17 assists.

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