Lady Bulldogs move onto 1A Regionals

The Haxtun Lady Bulldogs punched their ticket into the 1A Regional volleyball tournament slated to be played out at sites throughout the State this Friday and Saturday. Haxtun is set to travel to Kit Carson to take on the home team Lady Wildcats and Loveland Classical. The Lady Bulldogs enter the 24-team bracket as the 15th seed.

Haxtun wrapped up regular season play with a final league match up in Merino against the top-ranked Lady Rams on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs fell in set one, 25-18 but continued to battle in sets two and three. Midway through set two, Haxtun held an early lead over the Lady Rams before falling 25-13. The third was close to kick things off as the Lady Bulldogs tied the game at six, led 8-6 at one time and tied again with 10-all. Despite a hard-fought battle on the court, Merino took the sweep with a 25-18 third set win.

The team put 28 kills on the floor in Merino on Friday, led by three Lady Bulldogs, each with seven kills. That trio includes Megan Walker, Bobbi Starkebaum and Maggie Kilgour. Cassidy Goddard added five kills on the night. Starkebaum had a stellar night at the net, registering three blocks. Goddard tallied one block.

Haxtun served 90 percent with two Lady Bulldogs going 100. Emily Anderson served perfect on the night as did Starkebaum. Goddard and Grace Gibson each registered a serving ace.

Two Lady Bulldogs led in assists; Kelsie Hadeen sent 12 sets to her hitters followed by Starkebaum with 10.

In the back row, three Lady Bulldogs netted double-digits in the digs column. Walker dug up 20 attempts from the Lady Rams followed by Goddard with 19 and Starkebaum with 10. On serve receive, Julia Freeman and Walker led in passes, each with 16. Anderson registered 15 passes followed by Goddard with 13.

"The girls have played some tough teams and have played well in the last couple weeks," said Head Coach Don Schelling. "Playing number one and two ranked teams and playing them tough has given the girls confidence going into post season. The thing that stands out most for me is their fight. They never give up and they play for each other."

The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Kit Carson on Friday, Nov. 4 for pool play action with Kit Carson and Loveland Classical. Games begin at 3 p.m. Kit Carson enters as the number two team in 1A Colorado volleyball action, Haxtun is seated #15 and Loveland Classical comes in at 23. The winner will advance to the State Tournament at the Denver Coliseum the following week.

"We are going to be focusing on believing in ourselves, trying to eliminate our unforced errors and playing smart when games are tight," Schelling said of his team's focus going into the post-season.