Lady Bulldogs Served a Loss by Sisseton

The Lady Bulldogs struggled with their serving and suffered a 3-0 loss to their rival, the Sisseton Redmen, in a road game on September 12. Milbank’s record dropped to 2-6 with the loss.

Milbank ended the match with 42-53 serving for 79 percent. “Our serving percentage was not good,” stated Lady Bulldog Head Volleyball Coach Nancy Hoeke. “We missed way too many.” The Bulldogs fell behind in the first set and trailed 11-16. They remained behind at 16-21, and fell 17-25.

The Lady Bulldogs hung a little closer throughout much of the second set. The teams knotted the score several times before an ace by Sisseton and a Milbank error gave the Redmen a 13-15 lead. Milbank could not mount a comeback and fell by a score of 17-25.

Unforced errors plagued the Bulldogs in the third set. Sisseton continued to belt out the kills, however, and captured the set by an identical score of 17-25.

“We struggled from the get-go,” said Hoeke. “It was a challenge to put anything together to make a run. Sisseton’s two 6-foot girls kept our defense guessing. They’d hit hard, then soft, then deep, then short. That’s good volleyball and good strategy. This is one match where we need to have a short memory and look ahead to our next opponent.”

Jaecy Engebretson led the Lady Bulldogs’ offensive attack with 14 kills on 35-44 hitting, 4- 6 serving, 21-22 setting with three assists, and eight digs. Amy Nelson added three kills on 15- 16 hitting, two aces on 9-12 serving, and 11 assists on 47-48 setting. Elsie Rogers chipped in with three kills on 6-11 hitting, 2-2 serving, and one solo block.

Also adding to the totals for the Lady Bulldogs were: Averie Engebretson with three assists on 18-18 setting, one ace on 6-8 serving, and 13 digs; Cassidy Christians, 7-7 serving and 14 digs; Madi Thue, one ace on 8-10 serving; and Tracy Pillatzki, 6-8 serving and eight digs.

Milbank takes on Waubay-Summit in Summit on Tuesday, September 17.
They travel to Clark on Thursday, September 19.