Lady Raiders host Lady Cardinals

COLORADO COUNTY SHOWDOWN

The Columbus Lady Cardinals headed southbound on 71 Thursday night to get to Altair, TX where they matched up with their cross-county rivals, the Rice Lady Raiders.

Games between Rice and Columbus are always very competitive and both acknowledged that their teams get a little more excited to play each other.

“With the schools being so close and everybody kind of knows each other already so there is already a bit of a friendly rivalry before we even step on the court,” Lady Raiders Head Coach Morgan Hunter said.

“Any time we get to play close to home the girls get excited and this is also a district game for us which only added to our excitement coming into the game because we want to win as many district games as we can because they are all important to us,” Lady Cardinals Head Coach Kayley Johns said.

As for the game itself the Lady Cards ended up taking this one in three straight sets but the Lady Raiders gave them a run for their money. In the first set the Lady Raiders actually caught the Lady Cards on their heels a little bit and jumped out to an early but small lead.

The Lady Cards came storming back and recaptured the lead and never looked back. The Lady Cards may not have given up the lead in the first set but the Lady Raiders stayed within striking distance and made sure the Lady Cards did not get too comfortable.

The first set ended with a score of 25-14 and in the second set the Lady Cards came out swinging. Led by Gracie Schobel and Harper Gerik who finished the game with 11 and 10 kills respectively helped secure a 25-13 victory in the second set.

In the third set the Lady Raiders pushed back but the depth of the Lady Cardinals shined through, and they ended the game with a score of 25-17 in the third set. Throughout the match Johns utilized every player on her roster and getting these girls reps in district games helps the team be more prepared for the playoffs.

“We have had to use them throughout the entire season so far and when I say ‘them’, the ‘them’ has changed multiple times because of the depth that we have,” Johns said. “That’s what I told the team, is that we are so lucky and fortunate to have depth because there have been many years where we haven’t had it. So we just remind them to always be a great teammate if you’re starting great, be a great teammate, if you’re on the bench great, be a great teammate and they have all done an excellent job of that so far this year.”

As for Hunter, she looked at this as more of a measuring stick game for her team. Before the game she said she made sure her team tackled the biggest obstacle and that it was being mentally ready to play.

“We have conversations a lot about being mentally ready to step out on the court and I am proud to say that I think we were today, and I am so proud of our girls,” Hunter said. “The girls stepped on the court and earned every point we scored.”

The mental preparedness of the Lady Raiders was evident by the fact that they put together several runs that forced Columbus to call timeout and regroup. Not only that but for stretches throughout the match the Lady Raiders held their own with a team that is usually in the mix for a State Championship at the end of the year.

Hunter said that she can see the confidence growing in her team after hanging in there with not just Columbus but Edna as well.

“It’s huge for us,” Hunter said. “The girls are staring to gain the perspective that they can do this. Having them recognize that is still growth maturity wise and once those perspectives happen we can start working on some skills to add to recognizing plays and capitalizing on them.”

Hunter continued talking about the growth within her team and said that she tries to teach the girls that representing the Lady Raiders is a gift. The girls listened to the message from Hunter and were loud and proud both in the stands and on the bench and Hunter said it is huge for girls’ athletics moving forward.

“We have a lot of conversations girls’ athletics about being a Raider and what it means to be a Raider,” Hunter said. “It doesn’t matter what type of skill you have, if you can have some pride and some school spirit and work your butt off then that’s what it takes to be a Raider and those are all things we can just do.”

Hunter said there is a bigger goal in mind when it comes to these conversations about school pride.

“It’s about representing something more than yourself and hopefully that will help them later in life, looking at the big picture,” Hunter said.

Both the Lady Raiders and Lady Cards now look ahead in their district schedule where they will take on Palacios on the road and Industrial at home respectively on Tuesday, Sept. 16.