Lady Cowboys Volleyball

The Lady Cowboys started off their 2024 season with a loss to conference newcomers the Challis Vikings.  In game one the two teams battled back and forth with the Vikings building a 23-18 lead.  That’s when some Cowboy grit kicked in and the Lady Cowboys scored seven straight points, winning game one 25-23.  In game two, the Lady Cowboys began to struggle some, and Challis built an eight point lead.  North Gem was not able to overcome that deficit and fell 25-17 in game two.  Game three was not any better for the Cowboys, as the Vikings were able to find some open holes to get the ball down into.  That combined with some hitting errors by the Cowboys put North Gem in their biggest deficit of the day trailing by as many as twelve points and dropping game three 25-14.  In the fourth game of the match North Gem would come out swinging, with Sage Daniels serving the ball well. The Cowboys took an early 7-4 lead and Challis called a timeout.  North Gem held that slim advantage for a few more points before Challis came back and tied the game up at ten points a piece.  Challis continued their run and pushed the lead to 15-10.  With the momentum continuing to swing back and forth, the Cowboys cut the lead to 16-14.  Challis would not relent however as they strung together several more points gaining a 20-14 advantage.  North Gem made one final push getting as close as 23-21 before giving up the final two points taking the loss 25-21 and falling in the best of five match three games to one.

Two days later North Gem continued their season by hosting a tri-match with Hansen and the Aberdeen JV.  In the best of five match against the Hansen Huskies, the Lady Cowboys stayed competitive but came up short, losing 25-22, 25-21 and 25-18.  Next the Cowboys faced off against the Aberdeen JV squad.  The Cowboys easily cruised to victory in the first set winning 25-8.  In the second set the game became very competitive eventually becoming tied at 17.  That's when junior Sage Daniels stepped to the line to serve and the Cowboys never gave the ball back.  Daniels served the final eight points of the set giving North Gem the win 25-17.  In the third set the Cowboys would once again dominate the match winning in convincing fashion 25-6.  

Coach Yost was excited about how competitive the team has been thus far, “We are starting out stronger than we have in several years. The JV and varsity teams showed they are here to play, having grit and Cowboy pride.”

Sage Daniels served the ball well throughout the week while libero Shalyn Thompson made several defensive plays with her quick reaction time.  Mariah O’Brien showed real promise with her play at the net and Kymberli Jensen made several good sets and passes to help the team.  The Lady Cowboys will next be in action on Saturday when they travel to Grace Lutheran to play in a tri-match with the Royals and Sho-Ban.