By Giovanni Coronel
LONE TREE
A gauntlet of matches awaited the Lady Lions as they welcomed three schools to their own Invitational Quad on Sept. 26.
Finding success on their home court, Lone Tree ended the night with two wins and one loss after facing off against the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies, the Keota Eagles, and the WACO Warriors.
Playing against CVC in their first matchup the Lady Lions were handed their only loss of the Quad. The Huskies came out on top over Lone Tree, 2-0, with final scores of 21-15, 21-11.
Out of Lone Tree’s three matches this was the only one that was decided in two straight sets.
Junior Alex Dautremont led the Lady Lions with five kills against the Huskies and leading the team in assists (4) and digs (8) was junior Hayden Yoder.
In a quick turnaround the Lady Lions welcomed the Eagles for their second matchup of the night.
Not letting the sting of defeat linger for long, Lone Tree claimed victory over Keota, 2-1, with final scores of 18-21, 21-19, 15-13.
The game proved to be an exciting one, with every set being decided by three points or less. After a Keota win in the first set, the next set came down to the wire, but Lone Tree went on a 4-1 run to win and force another set.
The third set was just as close as the previous one, but Lone Tree prevailed yet again to take the victory with junior Rylee Shield scoring the game winning kill for the Lady Lions.
Against Keota, Sexton led Lone Tree in kills (5), sophomore Delanie Graap led the team in assists (7) and Dautremont led in digs (14).
In their final game of the Quad, Lone Tree matched up against WACO.
Overcoming a staggering first set loss the Lady Lions emerged victorious over the Warriors, 2-1, with final scores of 9-21, 22-20, 15-13.
With the Warriors defeating the Lady Lions earlier in this season, Lone Tree was able get some payback by returning the favor with this win, handing WACO its only loss of the Quad.
Against WACO, Sexton led in kills (8), Dautremont led in digs (11), and Floyd led in service aces (4).
Columbus 3, Lone Tree 0
Continuing their week-long homestand, Lone Tree hosted the Columbus Wildcats on Sept. 28.
This night went the way of the Wildcats, as they swept the Lady Lions, 3-0, with final scores of 25-15, 25-12, 25-22.
For Columbus sophomore Daniela Diaz led in assists (30). Having herself a productive night junior Lily Coil led the Wildcats in kills (13), digs (22), and service aces (7).
Leading the way for Lone Tree on offense was junior Alex Dautremont.
Dautremont ended the night with a team high six kills. She also accounted for 12 digs, tied for the team high along with junior Hayden Yoder. Yoder also led the team in assists (10).
The first set saw Lone Tree get off to a slow start, falling behind 8-0. They were never able to close the distance as Columbus eventually won the set by 10 points.
Columbus won the second set by an even greater margin, but the third set ended up being the most competitive of the night.
With Columbus leading 23-15, junior Rylee Shield went on a serving streak that saw Lone Tree score six straight points. Unfortunately for the Lady Lions their comeback was stopped just short as the Wildcats scored the two points they needed to win the set and the match.
Up next for Lone Tree (3-16) will be a home game against Hillcrest (6-11) on Oct. 5.