Lady Tigers win season finale

ADRIAN, Mo. -- The Nevada Lady Tigers volleyball team got back into action for the final time in the regular season and put forth one of its most consistent, strongest performances of the season against the Lady Blackhawks of Adrian High School Thursday night.

Tonight, we took care of business and didn't mess around," Lady Tigers head coach Ashley Thoreson said. "We played very well from the beginning and really focused on minimizing our errors."

Hitting errors have been a significant point of issue to the Lady Tigers all season long, but that wasn't the case Thursday night. That effort to minimize errors worked almost to perfection for the Lady Tigers on the night as they finished with a total of just five hitting errors in 46 attempts in the match.

On top of that, the Lady Tigers had a strong night from the serving line, recording a team total of 11 aces on their way to a 25-8, 25-10 victory.

Of those 11 aces, Bree Reppert was responsible for a staggering total of seven, to go along with her seven kills. After coming back from a shoulder injury she suffered in warm-ups before Monday's home match against Lamar, Rilie Good led the Lady Tigers with eight kills and three blocks.

Morgan McNeley rounded out the team leaders as she finished with 20 assists, five digs, six kills and two aces.

"I think we are playing our best of the season and that is a great way to end our regular-season play and (we) will carry that confidence and discipline into districts," Thoreson said. "It's always sad to see our regular season come to an end, but with there being so much to look forward to in post-season with districts in our home gym, we can't help but be excited and focused on what's next."

The Lady Tigers' junior varsity squad was in action on the night, as well, but didn't come out with nearly as positive a results. Though coach Megan Krogen's squad played in two very close sets, the Lady Tigers ultimately fell by the final scores of 25-20 and 26-24.

With Thursday's matches, the varsity Lady Tigers finished the regular season with an overall record of 24-7-1, while the JV finished 11-17-2. Nevada's freshman concluded a 4-12-1 season Tuesday night, at Carl Junction.

Now that the regular season has come to an end, the Lady Tigers will begin final preparations for the Class 3, District 12 Tournament, which begins Monday, when the Lady Tigers take on the Lady Wildcats of Harrisonville High School, at Wynn Gymnasium. That match is set to begin at 5 p.m.