Lady Tigercats defeat Liberty Christian in league match

The Lady Tigercats hosted two home games last week, earning a league win against Liberty Christian on Sept. 28. The game against St. John-Endicott on Oct. 1 marked the midway point for the team in league competition.

During the Sept. 28 match in Kahlotus, the Lady Tigercats defeated Liberty Christian in four sets with scores of 25-9, 25-8, 21-25, 25-5.

“Three of the sets we played pretty well, the third set was rough,” Head Coach Sandy Martin said. “We had a total break down in communication and we made a lot of unforced errors.”

Martin said the team composed themselves in the fourth set in order to come back and win the match. The team had a consistent passing game, but saw a decrease in the serving percentage during the Liberty Christian match.

Nicole Harder continued to be a leader for the team offensively as she racked up 11 aces and 25 assists. Jazzmyn Gordon had 11 kills and three blocks. Jessica Guske led the team in passing with 11 digs.

The Lady Tigercats hosted St. John-Endicott in LaCrosse on Oct. 1. The LWK team pushed the match to four sets with scores of 10-25, 26-24, 22-25, 9-25.

The team started out shaky in the first set, struggling to start the offense with a solid pass to set up a hit. Between the first and second set, the Lady Tigercats composed themselves and took the court with increased energy.

The LWK team controlled the tempo of the second set, leading SJE by as many as six points throughout the match. The Lady Eagles managed to close the gap and tie the game about halfway through the set, but the Lady Tigercats remained diligent and earned the second set win.

The Lady Tigercats managed to secure the single set win by having consistent passing and hitters working on placing the ball on hits or tips. Martin said the team earned the second set win because they remained focused and communicated with each other.

With smart decisions offensively, the LWK team continued the momentum into the next set.

The Lady Eagles had multiple athletes able to serve to a spot with strong serves. Martin said the team struggled to get the offense running in the last two sets because of bad passing.

Harder stepped up to lead the team with 24 assists and three aces. Abby McGregor had a consistent game with nine digs. Gordon continued to be a force at the net, earning 12 kills. Britte Harder had two blocks for the Lady Tigercats.

The Lady Tigercats are focusing on passing difficult serves in practice to help prepare themselves for tough upcoming matches. Nicole Harder is one of the team’s toughest servers, and Martin said she is helping the team practice with serve receive, while simultaneously helping her develop a hard serve.

Martin said the team is spending practice time learning positional serving. The athletes are becoming reliable at placing their serves, Martin said, as long as they remain confident with their skill.

As the team reaches the midway point in the season, Martin said the team goal is to compete in districts.

“We feel that is very reachable as long as we play as a team and with confidence,” Martin said. “We will continue to work on passing the serve and on all of the other skills.”

The Lady Tigercats move on to face Oakesdale on Oct. 8 in Washtucna.