Lone Tree also finished the Keota Volleyball Tournament with a win after dropping both matches in pool play. The Lady Lions bounced back from losses to Mid-Prairie and Highland to defeat Tri-County in the fifth-place match. 

“It’s never fun to lose and coming out with a win always helps with momentum,” Lone Tree coach Lora Sieverding said. “That’s one of the things that we struggle with. When we get behind, we start to get down on ourselves, when clearly they can come around and rally back. It was a good win for them and I’m glad they got it.”

Lone Tree was more competitive in the first sets of each of its first two matches. The Lions fell 25-19, 25-11 to the tournament champ Mid-Prairie and lost 25-20, 25-21 to Highland.

In the final match, the Lady Lions edged Tri-County 25-22 in the first set and then had great energy in the final set of the day, a decisive 25-15 win.  

“We started really well against Mid-Prairie,” Sieverding said. ‘We had that fire, we’re scrappy, things are really rocking. And then all of a sudden we were back on our heels. And I told them if we can start talking it will just naturally make that energy come about. And I think (in the final set) that showed up there. And there was just a lot of excitement and fire.”