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Lady Tigers win a set but lose conf. crown to Lamar
LAMAR — In an atmosphere that felt more like the state championship than a Big 8 West title match, the Nevada High School volleyball team lost to rival Lamar 3-1 on the road Thursday night.
The win secured a regular-season conference championship for the home team, which improved to 23-4 overall and 6-0 in Big 8 West play. But the visiting Lady Tigers (12-15-1, 5-1) certainly made Lamar earn it.
“It was kind of one of those games where you can sit back and let them bring the intensity and just do the coaching,” said NHS head coach Kori Dodson, whose squad responded from losing a thrilling opening set 24-26 by winning the second 25-21, before coming up short in the next two 17-25, 22-25. “You can always count on Lamar to have an exciting student section. It’s the type of atmosphere you play for. High school sports, coming in, you want something like this. The conference championship, this is what a gym should be like.”
In front of a packed crowd, including two student sections screaming after nearly every point, Lamar survived a close opening set in which the two squads exchanged numerous kills late — until a Nevada error sealed it for the home Tigers.
The second set was just as close, but at 18-18 Nevada junior Trinity Gayman served up two straight aces before sophomore teammate Delaney Hope rattled off three straight kills to help the visiting Tigers pull away and even the score.
“Second set was great. We went out with full intensity. Responded after a tough loss in the first one,” said Dodson, whose team seemed to take the home crowd out of it with the win, only to reenergize it by making some untimely errors in the third set. “We let it slip away from us and let them gain a little confidence.”
Nevada nearly came back in the fourth set to force a fifth, but back-to-back blocks by Lamar’s formidable middle closed out the match and earned the home team the Big 8 West crown.
Nevada beat Cassville on Wednesday in five sets (21-25, 25-15, 25-23, 18-25, 17-15).