Ending the week with a win was positive for the Lady Bobcats, but the road there was rough. South Loup fought through five straight losses before they triumphed over the Gibbon Buffaloes to close out their most recent campaign.

Last Tuesday, Oct. 7, the Lady Bobcats traveled to Maxwell for a triangular with the Wildcats and Cambridge Trojans. South Loup faced Cambridge in first round action, with the Trojans hammering out the win in two sets, 25-7, 25-8. The Bobcats struggled to answer the 18-6 Trojans, with junior Asa Starr finishing the game with just 4 kills, Charli Pandorf offering up 6 digs, and Rae Hagler chipping in 3 assists.

As they moved on to challenge the Maxwell Wildcats, the Bobcats fired up a bit. They fought to get some points on the board but ultimately fell short with the Wildcats taking both sets, 25-18, 25-17. Emma Stallbaumer led in kills, slamming down 8. Nyachay Haidle had 2 kills, and was an asset on the service line, sending over 3 ace serves. Pandorf and Addison Stump finished the game with 4 digs each, and Rae Hagler helped at the net with 11 assists.

The Bobcats’ next challenge would be a similar result, with South Loup on the road meeting the Haymakers on Thursday, Oct. 9 in Cozad. Facing an intimidating Haymaker squad that racked up 34 kills, 6 aces and 44 digs over three sets, the Lady Bobcats struggled to get their own offense going. The Haymakers swept all three sets, 25-14, 25-16, 25-17. Stallbaumer led the attack with 7 kills, while Haidle pitched in 5. Hagler was on hand for 11 total assists, and Haidle served the lone ace of the night. The girls struggled on defense, with Hagler going for just 6 digs, followed by Pandorf, Stump and Haidle with 4 each.

On Saturday, Oct. 11 the Bobcats played in the ALC Rebel Volleyball Tournament in Loup City, and were looking for retribution that would be slow in coming. Their first game was against the dominating West Holt Wolves, who took the lead early and won the match in two sets, 25-9, 25-16. Next up, the Bobcats faced the Fullerton Warriors and started to get their groove back. After a blistering back-and-forth in the first set, the Bobcats dropped the set to Fullerton 27-25. South Loup came back with a vengeance in set two, edging out the Warriors 25-19. That groove faltered in the last set, as the Bobcats lost momentum and fell to Fullerton 25-18, ending the game in a 2-1 loss.

After getting a taste of victory, the Bobcats headed into their final match of the day against the Gibbon Buffaloes. The girls were all business, steadily racking up points to sweep the Buffaloes decisively in two sets, 25-18, 25-12. The Bobcat win came from the service line, and Olivia Fitzgerald led the charge with 4 ace serves. Ace was the word of the day, as Haidle handed in an additional 3 and Hagler, Stallbaumer, and Aubrie Birkel each contributed 1. Pandorf and Hagler each finished with 4 digs, and Haidle posted 3 kills.

The Lady Bobcats ended their challenging run with a record of 5-19 to wrap up regular-season play. This week marks the beginning of the Mid-Nebraska Activities Conference Volleyball Tournament, with firstround action starting tonight, Oct. 16, in Brady. South Loup will clash with the Mullen Broncos with a start time of 4 p.m. Remaining rounds of the tournament will be hosted by Brady on Saturday, Oct. 18.