Chieftains pass road test

By Ross Pattermann

The Lake Holcombe volleyball team fought off a determined Bruce Red Raiders squad on the road, Oct. 15, topping the Eastern Lakeland Conference rivals in a five-set thriller. The Chieftains were in a two-set to none deficit, but battled back to take the final three sets.

“The team started slow in this match, but they were very determined to end conference play with a win,” said coach Beth Meddaugh. “The girls fought hard on defense and found their offense in the third set, and just kept working together for the win.”

The Raiders raced out to an early lead in the first, dominating Lake Holcombe, 25-15. The second set helped set the tone for the rest of the match, as each team went at it claw, tooth and nail.

Bruce took the second set, 27-25, but the Chieftains refused to give up and with their backs against the wall, threw everything they had at Bruce.

The Chieftains would go on to take the third set, 2521, thus forcing a fourth set. From there, Lake Holcombe was on the winning side of a tight set, taking the fourth, 25-23.

In the fifth and final set, each team traded points, but it was the Chieftains who had the momentum and they took the match by a score of 15-13, in the fifth frame.

Kill leaders on the night included Alycia Emmons with 8, Jonae Toutant with 7, and Leah Allard and Paige Flater with 5 each. Allison Golat-Hattamer tallied a massive 27 set assists, and Annabelle Wincek had 4 aces and a team high 28 digs, while Karlee Andres recorded 17 digs.

The victory allows the Chieftains to leapfrog the Raiders in the conference standings. With the final win, Lake Holcombe finished fourth this season in league play and enters the post-season with a 6-6 record in conference play.