The Patriots hosted the Langford Area Lions to open up the post season and the Patriots made quick work of them.
In the first set, the two teams exchanged points until Cambree Hoekman went on a serving run to extend the lead and make some separation between the two teams. Ella Johnson then continued with another long serving run to push the lead even more and help the Patriots win set one by a score of 25-12.
Set two proved to be a carbon copy of the first set as the Patriots jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. The Patriots ran away with set two by a score of 25-12.
Set three proved to be the closet of the night as hitting and serving errors for the Patriots kept the set close. The Patriots found themselves struggling to get any type of long run going as the two teams exchanged points through most of the set. The Patriots scored when they needed to, and finished the set off 25-22, and won the match 3-0.
Offensively, the Patriots recorded 38 kills in the match, led by Katelyn Schroeder with 17 kills. With that, Schroeder recorded her 1,000 career kill. Isabel Gilbert and Ella Johnson also chipped in 8 kills each. Lila Johnson dished out 30 assists on the night, followed by Gracyn Bixler with 6.
From the serving line, the Patriots recorded 8 aces. Ella Johnson tallied 3 aces, followed by Bixler with 2.
Defensively, the ladies tallied 61 digs with Schroeder leading the team with 19. Cambree Hoekman and Lila Johnson also recorded double digit digs with 13 and 12 respectively. At the net the Patriots recorded 6 block assists with Gilbert and Lila Johnson each recording 2.
With the win, the Patriots move their record to 23-7 and will advance to the final round of Region 1B play and take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Mellette for a spot in the SoDak 16 up for grabs. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m. We would love to see a large crowd in Mellette to cheer on the ladies!