The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Lady Cats had busy week, playing Rocky Boy at home this past Monday, earning a 3-0 sweep of the Morning Stars. Thursday they were in Conrad where they ran into a tough Conrad team that always had the momentum in a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Cats. Friday the girls hosted a very talented Fairview Warrior team and again fell 3-0.

Monday at home against the Morning Stars the Lady Cats were rolling right from the start, behind the strong play at the net from senior Kaitlyn Johnson, senior Emma Billmayer and junior Raelynne Briere along with solid defense from senior Savannah Jones, senior Caly Adams, sophomore Aaraya Mount and junior Lacia Walls. The Lady Cats started fast and never looked back taking down the Morning Stars in set number one 25-7. Set number two was more of the same with Harlem taking a 25-11 set win. The Lady Cats closed out Rocky Boy in set three 15-5.

Thursday in Conrad the Lady Cats played well, sustained several rallies and were strong defensively. Harlem struggled finishing those rallies while the Cowgirls came away with the point. In set number one Conrad grabbed a quick 4-0 lead before Jones scored on a push over the net. The Cowgirls extended the lead to 10-2 when the Lady Cats mounted a rally capped off by a kill by Johnson cut the lead to 11-9. Another Kill from Johnson made the score 15-13 in favor of the Cowgirls as they finish strong to defeat Harlem 25-17 in set 1.

Conrad started fast once again in set number two. The Lady Cats got kills from junior Jaden Blackcrow and Billmayer, but the home team still held a 14-4 advantage and cruised to a 25-12 second set win. In set number three the Lady Cats were stymied from the start and never got going leading to a 25-10 third set win, giving the Cowgirls the match 3-0.

Friday night at home the Lady Cats hoped for a better result against the Fairview Warrior when they were swept early in the season. This go around the Warriors came out swinging in sets number one and two, winning both by scores of 25-11 and 25-15. The third set the Lady Cats gave the Warriors all they could handle.

Junior Raelynne Briere had a strong play at the net to give Harlem a 3-2 lead. Junior Jaden Blackcrow slammed home a kill to keep Harlem in front 5-4. Billmayer scored on a kill of her own to put the Lady Cats up two, 11-9. The Warriors would regain the lead before a kill from senior Kaitlyn Johnson brought Harlem back within on 17-18. Another kill from Johnson would give the Lady Cats the lead back at 20-19. Johnson again scored to even the score at 22-22. Fairview scored the final three points of the set to win 25-22 and the match 3-0.

Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry had this to say, "I was really pleased with how we played that third set against Fairview. It proves that the girls can compete with the best teams if they work on consistency, whether it be passing, setting and hitting. Our serving was over 90% this past weekend so we need to keep that up. We will have a full week of practice this week to continue to move forward."