The Lady Bobcats hosted Ainsworth on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in their last regular season game of 2023. It was a hard-fought nip-and-tuck match that took five sets to declare a winner. In the end, it was Ainsworth on top; however, any of the sets could have gone either way.

The Lady Bobcats squeezed out the first set 25-23, but Ainsworth gained some momentum heading into set two to win 25-17. South Loup answered back in the third to win 25-20, but Ainsworth was not about to give up. Set four was another nail-biter going point for point, with Ainsworth able to get the job done 25-23 and force a fifth set.

Coming off the hard-fought win in the fourth, the Bulldogs had the momentum going into the fifth, defeating the Lady Bobcats 15-12.

“This was such an exciting game. Not only because it was our seniors’ last regular home game for the season, it was also our Pink Out and we got to celebrate a senior milestone achievement, Bryn Schwarz surpassing the 1,000 career dig mark,” said Head Coach Desiree Guthrie. “The girls fought so hard and honestly played the best they have all season, it was just unfortunate we didn't come out with the win.”

Obviously with a game so close there were a number of noteworthy plays that had spectators on their feet and the bench cheering. “So many exciting moments throughout the 5-set match,” Guthrie added. “As a coach, I am not only watching the game but analyzing as they go too. Coming into games we prep and work on areas where we can push forward and execute situations for point victories. The girls worked hard and did just that. Watching them do all the things we worked on in practice controlling our side of the court and having a ton of fun at the same time. Not much more a coach can ask for! I am so proud of this team. Moving forward into sub-district play this week, they are ready and excited to play!”

The Lady Bobcats traveled to Maxwell for a first-round district match-up with North Platte St. Pat’s on Monday, Oct. 23. Unfortunately, they ended their season with a loss in nthat game, which we will recap next week.

Stats v Ainsworth:

Grace Bierman- 4 Ace Serves, 11 Digs Greeley Hrupek- 1 Ace Serve, 7 Digs Riata Remund- 15 Digs Maggie Birkel- 1 Ace Serve Delaney Rogers- 7 Kills, 3 Ace Blocks, 11 Digs Bryn Schwarz- 8 Kills, 1 Ace Block, 26 Assists, 15 Digs and hit a career milestone of 1,050+ Career Digs Charli Vickers- 2 Ace Serves, 21 Kills, 15 Digs Delaynie Laible- 1 Kill, 12 Digs Josie Reiff- 1 Ace Serve, 25 Digs