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COLUMBUS – The Lady Raiders have had much better results in the record book this season as they continue their efforts to try to become a factor in the district title race. They still have more ground to cover as they got their first look against the team that is favored to take the district championship this season: the Columbus Lady Cardinals. The match proved to be reflective of the dynamic between a team that is in the process of rebuilding and one that had just made a state semifinal appearance the year before. Columbus showed why they are currently one of the top teams in the state with a three-game sweep over the Lady Raiders.
However, the Lady Raiders put up some fight that showed off the improvements they have made this season. The first set was the highlight of the day for Rice as they finished with their closest margin in a 25-17 defeat to Columbus. The Lady Raiders were able to find some holes in the Lady Cards’ imposing defense and reach a point total they never achieved last season against Columbus. The Lady Cards still were more polished and effective on offense despite letting a few more points through as they closed the first game on a run.
Their run continued in the second game as the Lady Cards had their most dominant set of the match. The offense stayed potent for Columbus, but their defensive production had a major jump as they locked down their county rivals and stopped the Lady Raiders from reaching double-digit scoring. Columbus kept up the intense pressure until they took the second set by a big, 25-6 margin that marked the biggest margin of the match.
Rice doubled their score in the final set as they began to find some of their offense once again. However, the Lady Cards had already gotten their momentum and carried it on throughout the rest of the match. Despite allowing the Lady Raiders to score double digits in the final set, Columbus maintained their focus as they completed a dominant effort to take a 25-12 win in game three.
The attack for Columbus was an even effort as several Lady Cards picked up multiple scoring strikes. Ally Tribe led the way with eight kills in the match. Taylor Morrow finished just behind with seven kills while Gracie Schobel and Ember Mandola finished with five kills each. Caylie Neisner had a team-leading seven digs on defense followed by Sage Thomas with four. Thomas also passed out 24 setter assists to help the offense stay efficient.
The Lady Raiders were led by Alejandra Palacios who finished with the team’s top total in kills with four. Raelee Nelson led the team in both digs and assists with four and eight respectively Tricelle Fields contributed to two blocks and had a hand in sharing an assisted block with Nelson and Palacios.
Ariana Palacios and Breelyn Freeman each had a service ace against the Lady Cards.
As district play begins, both teams will have different goals to accomplish as the Lady Cards will be looking to finish strong and potentially take the district title while the Lady Raiders are hoping to move up in the standings from their last place finish a season ago.
