Ladies struggle with league leaders

Lady Raider Volleyball lost both matches last week to Central Washington 2B North leaders Brewster and Okanogan.

Lake Roosevelt now owns a 2-5 win-loss record in league play and 3-5 overall.

Looking ahead to the last half of the season, Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit wants the team to keep building on the positives. "The goal now is to keep some good momentum and continue to work on areas that we are struggling in," he said.

In the match against Brewster, LR jumped ahead of the Bears early in the first two games. Brewster came back and defeated the Lady Raiders in the first, but had to score extra points in the second game to win. In the third game the Lady Raiders ran out of steam and the Bears cruised to a straight-set win.

Savannah Marin rallied the Lady Raiders in the second game with a long serving streak that put the Lady Raiders back in it. Piturachsatit pointed out that the team served with success 86 percent of the time.

Kammi Rosenbaum served up seven aces, and Lachelle Bearcub recorded four of her own. Jocelyn Moore recorded several blocks and four kills against the Bears. Aiyanna Picard has continued to improve and racked up three kills against Brewster.

Defense on serves is still an area the coach sees the Lady Raiders improving on as they only returned 50 percent of Brewster's serves. "It was an increase from last week, but we are nowhere near where we need to be or that the girls are capable of," Piturachsatit said.

Against Okanogan Oct. 2, the Lady Raiders faced their toughest opponent yet. "They are a talented team and understand how to play volleyball at the next level," Piturachsatit commented.

The Bulldogs took the first two games easily, using a quick offense that was too strong for the Lady Raiders to respond to, initially. LR kept their heads up and learned how to respond to the Bulldog offense, which lead to a competitive third game. The Lady Raiders had 21 digs in the third game, compared to just 15 for the first two combined. LR could not win the last game and lost in straight set to the Bulldogs three games to none. The Lady Raiders served successfully against Okanogan 89 percent of the time, while their serve defense was at 47 percent.

Jocelyn Moore and Lachelle Bearcub recorded three blocks apiece and scored five points for the Lady Raiders.

"Even though it was a loss, we are looking forward with many positives from this game," Coach Piturachsatit said.

Last night the Lady Raiders took on the Liberty Bell Mt. Lions at Gailord Nelson Gym. LR defeated the Mt. Lions at Liberty Bell Sept. 11, three games to one.

Tomorrow the Lady Raiders head North to Oroville to take on the CWL 2B North last place Hornets in a 5:30 p.m. match. Oroville is 0-7 in league play, including a 3-1 loss to LR.

The Lady Raiders will host the Bridgeport Fillies in Coulee Dam Oct. 14 for a 5 p.m. match. The Fillies defeated the Lady Raiders on Sept. 18 in Bridgeport in a straight set.

Sept. 30

LR- 16 24 11

Brewster- 25 26 25

Oct. 2

LR- 4 10 22

Okanogan- 25 25 25