Bracken County’s Macy Lucas sends the ball over the net against the Bishop Brossart Lady ‘Stangs on October 28, 2024.
Bishop Brossart’s Kate Neltner jumps up for a return against the Bracken County Lady Bears on October 28, 2024.
The Bracken County Lady Bears took on the Bishop Brossart Lady ‘Stangs on the volleyball court in the first round of the 10th region girls volleyball tournament on Monday.
The Lady Bears entered the tournament the 39th districts strongest, after defeating both the St. Pat Lady Saints and Augusta Lady Panthers to be crowned district champions for the second year in a row. Bishop Brossart were the district runners up of the 37th and sit as the second ranked team in the region in RPI, falling to the first ranked team, the Scott Lady Eagles in the championship contest. Although neither team had seen one another throughout the regular season, they were both prepared for a tough match-up, both eager to get out ahead of the opposition.
The Lady ‘Stangs came out strong in set one, building up a 15-10 lead over Bracken County midway through the contest. The Lady Bears however continued to fight and eventually tied the contest 20-20 late in the set, hoping to pull out a victory and enter set two up 1-0 over Bishop Brossart. Bracken County took a 22-21 lead over the Lady ‘Stangs, but would eventually fall behind as Bishop Brossart closed out the set 25-22.
“I really thought we were gonna win that first set, it was very tight all the way to the end. Some things just didn’t go our way and we couldn’t finish that game but, I thought it was within our reach. Of course, you always think if you can get that one game you can get two and you can get three, but I thought it was within our reach but we just couldn’t grab it.” said Lady Bears head coach Julie Krift.
Set two was just as closely fought as the first, with both teams working hard to pull out a win. Early on in the contest, the Lady Bears led 10-7 over Bishop Brossart, a lead the Lady ‘Stangs would soon close, tying the game 10-10. Bracken County once again would then pull ahead to lead 15-10, with Bishop Brossart tying 15-15 midway through the set, and again 18-18 as the set continued. The Lady ‘Stangs would then pull ahead to lead 20-19 over Bracken County, and would close out set two leading 25-20.
Although the Lady Bears were down 2-0 heading into set three, Bracken County’s defense was playing strong, coach Krift believed them to be what would keep them in the contest.
“We knew that coming in that Neltner on the outside would be huge. She’s a senior, she’s been a stud since, I can’t even recall when she wasn’t on that outside. Just pounding the ball, she’s got a great swing, a great jump and we had a hard time stopping her especially in the third, when they started swinging our line a little bit more and we had a hard time stopping that. Our block was pretty strong through most of the game, but then she did start swinging around it and hitting that line.” said coach Krift.
Bracken County unfortunately would fall behind quickly in set three, down 5-1 early in the set, and still behind 15-5 midway through. The Lady ‘Stangs had been able to adjust to the Lady Bears’ defense efficiently, and had built up a comfortable lead quickly. The Lady Bears would then pick up a few more points late in the set, down 20-9 to Bishop Brossart, with the Lady ‘Stangs pulling out the victory 25-12, to go 3-0 over the Lady Bears.
“I’m proud of my girls, I know that they came out with a lot of fight. We got down in the third game and we never were able to pull back to where we were within hitting range of thinking we could turn that one around. They’re a powerful school, they’ve got a lot of history in volleyball. Bracken is developing players that can compete in that type of situation, and our girls are working their butts off, in the off-season, in season, they care so much about it and I can’t feel down about that. I’m really just proud of them.” said coach Krift.
Bishop Brossart will return to Brooksville this evening to take part in the 10th region semifinals, in a contest against the Montgomery County Lady Indians, a team they’ve seen once prior this season.
The Lady Bears will lose seniors Nicole Archibald, Alaynah Beard, Braelyn Garvey, Emma Knott and Isabelle Straathof, several of whom have been a huge part to the success of the Bracken County volleyball program for much of their high school careers, and will be missed by each of their teammates and coaches.
“Oh man, they’ve given us a lot over the years. I just told them that I couldn’t be more proud of them, they’ve given us so much work and we appreciate it. We appreciate the work these kids give everyday, day in, day out. We can just hug them and love them and tell them how much we love them and how proud we are and just support each other. They’re really good about that, they love each other. They’re sad because it’s over, because you never want it to stop.” said coach Krift.
