Match goes five sets
The St. Michael Indian School Lady Cardinals withstood some tough defense by a resurgent Rehoboth Christian School team and beat the Lady Lynx 3-2 in a District 1-3A volleyball game played Sept. 23. The Lady Cardinals won the match 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, and 15-8.
“I think we lost what enabled us to win the first two games, but we got it back in the last game,” St. Michael Head Coach Andrea Ashkie said. “We had a let-down on defense for a short time, but we picked it up and were able to win the match.”
The first game looked like it was going to be a runaway with the Lady Cardinals jumping out to a 13-8 lead. Junior outside hitter Sydney Terry and senior setter Sierra Badonie were too much on defense and offense for the Lady Lynx to contain.
Junior middle hitter Delila Nakaidinae of St. Michael recorded an assortment of kills and placement shots to help the Lady cardinals keep leads, and the left-handed junior outside hitter Jalynn Smith also hit placement shots that Rehoboth simply couldn’t get.
Rehoboth clawed back late in the opening game as Rehoboth’s senior middle hitter Sidni Brown got more into the offensive flow and was able to score some kills from up close.
Junior setter Halle Lizer of Rehoboth painstakingly tried to get people in position for easy kills near the net, but the defense of the Lady Cardinals rose to the occasion when things looked as though they were slipping away.
There was some momentum established by the Lady Lynx toward the end of Game 1, but by the time they got their momentum going, it was too late.
Game 2 saw the same lack of focus for the Lady Lynx, even though the team was able to keep the game close in the early minutes.
Both teams played equally for most of the second game, but there came a time late in the game when Rehoboth committed too many costly net errors — and junior middle blocker Paige Laughling was a little too mobile at the net for St. Michael. There was one exchange in the second game where Brown attempted a kill at the net, only to see Laughling put it back for a Cardinals’ point.
Whatever Rehoboth Head Coach Char Chapman told her team at the end of Game 2 registered big time. The Lady Lynx came out a more aggressive team and put themselves in the right places on offense and defense. Rehoboth got out to a 9-5 lead and St. Michael appeared not to know what hit them. Rehoboth went up 15-10 and Ashkie called a timeout to regroup.
“We we’re a different team in the third game,” Chapman said. “That made a difference.”
Ditto for Game 4. The Lady Lynx rode the scoring abilities of Brown and senior middle hitter Mya Begay in games three and four. Begay recorded some key blocks at the net for Rehoboth in each game.
The last couple of games were played evenly by both teams. But the steam that Rehoboth showed in the third and fourth games was nowhere to be found in the fifth.
“I felt like we gave up in that last game,” Chapman said. “I don’t know what they were thinking, but we came out flat and didn’t play with aggression.”
Nakaidinae finished with seven kills and a game high of 14 blocks for St. Michael, and Badonie recorded 33 assists for the Lady Cardinals. Begay and Brown each had eight kills for Rehoboth, respectively.
Unbeaten St. Michael (3-0, 2-0) stays that away on the 2016 school year and Rehoboth fell to 5-4, 0-0 as a result of the loss.
The Lady Cardinals made it to the 2015 state playoffs, but lost to Tonopah Valley 3-1. Ashkie said she believes the team is on the same path to get as far, if not further, than the playoff run in 2015.
Regionally, St. Michaels plays in Section I North. Rehoboth plays in District 1-3A.
