Lady Raiders sweep Trojans with ease

With the victory over the Manson Trojans last Tuesday, LR moved into second place for the North Central B League.

The Lady Raiders now have a four-win, two-loss record in league play and are 7-6 overall. The momentum from the night before carried over for the Lady Raiders, who defeated Manson in straight sets to the joy of Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit.

“The girls are on a roll, playing very confident” he said, “and they are definitely working as a team.”

In the previous meeting between the Trojans and the Lady Raiders, Manson came out on top in four games as the Trojans took advantage of LR’s inconsistent play.

But last Tuesday, the Trojans did not find as many weaknesses to exploit.

“Our serve receive has become very effective,” Piturachsatit noted of the change. “It doesn’t take us long to side out and regain the serve.”

Against Manson the first time, he noted, the Lady Raiders had difficulty handling Manson’s serve.

“This time, they had difficulty handling ours,” he said. “We had multiple servers rack up points this game.”

Samantha Turner scored 24 points for the Raiders on serves in the match. Piturachsatit said Taneica Stanczak was a force in the middle, picking up several kills and blocks at the Trojans’ expense.

On the whole, the Lady Raiders are playing much better volleyball, the coach said.

“They understand now the importance of a solid practice and communicating on the court as a team,” he said.

This week, the Lady Raiders played only one match, last night at Liberty Bell.

The next match for the Lady Raiders is next Tuesday at the North Central B-leading Bridgeport Fillies, starting at 5 p.m. If the Lady Raiders hang on to second place, then next Thursday they play the number-three squad from the South Central B League at Kittitas High school.

The winner will go on to the District 5-6 2B Tournament Nov. 3 at Wenatchee High School.

Scores against Manson

LR 25 Manson 22

LR 25 Manson 14

LR 25 Manson 18