Lady Cats Sweep Indians, Will Meet Again Friday In District 2B Opener in Poplar
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The Harlem Lady Cat Volleyball team gathers around Head Coach, Kim Faulkinberry for some instruction Saturday afternoon in Poplar. The Lady Cats won their season final 3-0 over the Indians.
The Harlem Lady Cats rebounded in their final match of the season after going through a difficult stretch. The girls were in Poplar this past Saturday to take on the Indians while also looking to complete the season sweep. Harlem got the job done with a three set sweep on the road to end the regular season on a high note.
The Lady Cats had just endured a difficult stretch that saw them compete well and hold leads late only to lose them in the end. Saturday the girls came together and finish each set strong.
Sophomore, Aaraya Mount got the offense headed in the right direction early on with an Ace in set number one to bring Harlem within one at 7-8. Senior, Jessica King delivered a quick set to junior, Kaitlynn Johnson moments later to even the score at 8-8.
Later in the opening set sophomore, Raelynne Briere delivered a perfectly placed ball in the corner for a 16-15 Lady Cat lead.
Briere notched another point just off the block following a Lady Cat timeout. Senior Mylah Rider followed with a big swing and Johnson served an Ace to give the Lady Cats some breathing room and lead to a 25-21 first set win.
Harlem and Poplar again played things pretty evenly in set number two with scores being even at 7-7, 12-12 and 14-14 before the momentum started to swing in Harlem's favor. Billmayer hammered home a Kill, Briere dumped one just over the fingertips and Johnson bounced the final point of a trio of Poplar defenders in a 25-20 set two win.
Looking to complete the sweep in set number three the Lady Cats were again going to have to overcome a pesky Poplar attack. The Indians led 11-6 before Harlem got the offense rolling. Rider and Johnson each served Aces and Mount found an empty spot with her attack to give Harlem a 17-16 lead. Billmayer added another point moments later and then finished the match with a Kill off the Poplar block for a 25-21 third set win to complete the sweep.
Head Coach, Kim Faulkinberry was happy to see her team get the win Saturday, "I was happy for finishing the regular season with a win over Poplar. We didn't play as up tempo as I would have liked, but overall, much better."
Faulkinberry was very pleased with her Outside Hitter, "Emma Billmayer had the hot hand leading the team in kills with 10 against Poplar. Kaitlyn Johnson also hit the ball well and was 100% from the serving line. As a team we served much better with 86% overall."
The Lady Cats will now turn their attention to the District 2B Tournament, "We are looking forward to the District Tournament. We will open up against Poplar at 10:00 am on Friday morning. We just have to go over and play with heart and determination and we will do just fine. Anything can happen come tournament time," concluded Faulkinberry.
The Lady Cats will enter the District as the No. 4 Seed with a 8-8 overall record and a 2-6 Conference mark. The Indians will be the No. 5 Seed and enter with a 1-9 overall record, 0-8 in Conference. The top four teams at the District 2B Tournament will move on to the Northern B Divisional in Choteau the following week.
