Menu
Nevada volleyball wins on Dig for a Cure Night
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
The Nevada Lady Tigers volleyball team made its return to Wynn Gymnasium Thursday night on a very special night for all involved.
Dig for a Cure Night at Nevada High School started as a one-time event organized by former Lady Tigers head coach Becky Lowery that was then called Dig Pink Night. Since that inaugural event in 2010, it has been one of the most well-received special events the school puts on every year and this year was no exception.
"You know, there was a lot of work put into tonight, and a lot of behind the scenes work," Lady Tigers head coach Ashley Thoreson said. "I couldn't even begin to mention all the names of who helped out, but I think it was a great turnout and for a great cause."
Not only did the night feature a silent auction, autographed game ball raffle, face painting and cookies, but it also afforded the Lady Tigers the opportunity to play in front of one of the largest crowds Wynn Gymnasium has seen in recent memory.
"It was a fun night," Thoreson said. "I think that's the best crowd we've had, definitely all season, but maybe, since I've been here."
The Lady Tigers took full advantage of the energy provided by the night's events and the raucous, near-capacity crowd to take the victory over the Lady Mustangs of McDonald County by the final scores of 25-12 and 25-20.
The Lady Tigers entered the night with substantial motivation to earn a victory, brought on not only by the crowd and the cause to which the night was dedicated, but also by a desire for retribution. Thoreson's squad faced the Lady Mustangs in Anderson, Mo., on Oct. 3, and fell in two sets, by the final scores of 25-18 and 25-19, in a match in which they played well below the potential Thoreson had come to expect.
"We knew we were going to have to play good to beat them, especially since we lost the last time and played so off that night," Thoreson said. "You know, Mac County knew they had a chance coming in here."
The beginning of Thursday's match was much the same as the one the two played earlier as the Lady Tigers got off to a slow start. That didn't last, however, as the Lady Tigers were quickly able to find their rhythm and took a 13-point victory in the opening set.
Though the Lady Tigers seemed a bit off as a whole, the most substantial difference was the slow start to the night that was had by the Lady Tigers' most dominant player, Rilie Good. Through the early portions of the match, Good simply couldn't seem to find her rhythm, but never stopped trying and eventually found the spark she needed, once again becoming the driving force in the Lady Tigers' offense.
"She easily could have shut down after that, but she's learned to keep swinging," Thoreson said of Good's early struggles. "I think, you know, she knows that's what we're going to have to have out of her, so she just keeps going.
"We have the confidence in her to let her do it, as well. She can tip and get a kill, but, you know, of course, she can also swing and get a kill, so I always encourage that."
Things looked much better for the Lady Tigers in the second set, but the Lady Mustangs stepped up, as well. That ultimately resulted in a much closer affair, but the Lady Tigers were still able to come out on top, feeding off of the energy from the crowd to close out the match with a five-point victory.
"A lot of it, I think, was the crowd," Thoreson said. "You know, they got them pumped up. It was just a fun night."
Good added to her single-season kills record as she finished the night with a team-high nine to go with her five blocks. Morgan McNeley led the Lady Tigers with six digs, while Bree Reppert served four aces.
Though there were a lot of things that worked in the Lady Tigers' favor on the night, there was also some experimentation at work, on Thoreson's part. With the district tournament fast approaching, Thoreson has been looking at different lineups to see what might work best and utilized two different ones in Thursday's match.
"Those are hard decisions a coach has to make," Thoreson said. "I have the two lineups, but there's definitely positives and negatives to both."
The Lady Tigers' junior varsity and freshman squads were in action on the night, as well, but didn't fare quite as well. Coach Ranea Schulze's freshmen played just one set against the McDonald County "C" team and fell by a final score of 25-19, while coach Megan Krogen's JV won the second set, but were unable to come out on top in a three set match, falling by the final scores of 25-16, 25-22 and 25-21.
With their win, the Lady Tigers' varsity squad improved to 18-7 on the year. Thoreson's squad is scheduled to be back in action on Saturday, competing in the Harrisonville Invitational tournament.
After that tournament, the Lady Tigers will return to Wynn Gymnasium once more, taking on Lamar on Monday, before finishing out the regular season on the road against Adrian.