BOX ELDER, S.D. – A much improved Douglas volleyball team came to play at home Thursday night, surprising Sturgis in set one, but unforced errors by the Patriots and offensive dominance by the Sturgis front three allowed the Scoopers to beat Douglas on their home court in four sets Oct. 1.
Douglas took set one, 25-23 with the Scoopers sweeping the final three sets, 25-11, 25-21 and 25-21.
Morgan Phillips wore the libero jersey for Scooper head coach Debbie Cano, and the front line of Elizabeth Ortiz, Makayla Keffeler and Brinley Pickett got off to a slow start in set one. Douglas jumped out to a 10-5 lead early in the set before the Scoopers tied up the score at 12 apiece. The set was back and forth until it looked like Sturgis had the set well in hand at 22-18. The Patriots, behind the accurate serving of libero Makayla Regevig, ran off four straight points to take a 23-22 lead. The Scoopers tied the score at 23 before setter Kaylee Smith set up outside hitter Chloe Ullman for a devastating kill to give the Patriots a 24-23 lead. The set ended with a Sturgis net violation and a Douglas win, 25-23.
The Scoopers regrouped in set two and got out to a quick 5-2 lead. The Patriots evened the score at five apiece but Sturgis setter Joellen Cano used her pinpoint passing to give her front line some golden opportunities and the Scoopers took a 14-9 lead midway through the set with kills by Ortiz and Pickett. Sturgis then went on an 11-2 run, ending the match on a beautiful set by Phillips to junior middle hitter Kaylee Whatley, who scored the final point on a kill and the Scoopers won set two, 25-11.
Set three was much closer, as neither team had a lead of more than four points until late in the set when the Scoopers took a 23-16 lead. A controversial carry call by the officials on Cano gave the Patriots some momentum and they ran off five straight points to cut the Scooper lead to 23-21. Whatley was the closer again in set three, scoring a big point with a kill on a perfect set by Pickett to give Sturgis a 24-21 lead. The Patriots gave away the set on an unforced error by Talyiah Green, as she killed the ball into the net giving the Scoopers a 25-21 win in set three.
Set four was a replay of set three, as both teams traded leads early but neither team could pull away. Sturgis led 22-16 late in the set before the Patriots cut the Scooper lead to 22-19. A Douglas net violation ended the run and a kill by Whatley gave the Scoopers a 24-21 lead. Senior setter Olivia Vollmer blasted an ace by the Douglas defense for match point, giving Sturgis a 25-21 win in set four and a three sets to one win in the match.
Scooper junior Joellen Cano had a career night with 30 assists and four aces. Elizabeth Ortiz contributed nine kills, one assist and two aces, Jillian Beck had five kills and two blocks and Makayla Keffler chipped in eight kills, one block and one ace.
Sophomore setter Kylee Smith had 17 assists for Douglas with right side hitter Chloe Ullmer adding 10 kills and one dig. Savannah Gray had nine kills, one assist and one ace for the Patriots.
The Scoopers are back in action Saturday, Oct. 3 at Mitchell then travel to Spearfish Tuesday, Oct. 6.
