On Thursday, September 1, the Lady Dragon Volleyball team headed to Baltic to take on the Bulldogs. After winning their first five out of six games this season, the Dragons experienced a bitter loss as the Bulldogs took a bite out of the Dragons' hide, losing in three sets at 21-25, 22-25, and 18-25.
Garretson dropped the ball in the first two points of the game, allowing Baltic to start the point run. While the Dragons worked hard to close the lead, too many overshot kills kept the team from scoring, while the Bulldogs landed their ball just inside the line. With only two points to go before the end of the first set, Garretson made a run to snatch the win, closing the gap to 18-23 before the Bulldogs landed another famous just-inside-the-line attack. Despite getting the ball back, the rivals were unable to land that final point, allowing Garretson to gather three more points, taking the first set to 21-24. Unfortunately, a final attack by Garretson landed just out of bounds, giving Baltic the win.
Determined to change the course of the game, the Dragons started the second set on fire, gathering the first five points to Baltic's two. Garretson's lead held until a miscommunication resulted in Baltic getting back the ball, allowing the rival team to stretch the lead. This appeared to dishearten the Dragons, as they knocked the ball out of bounds and saw the lead stretch to 8-14. Refusing to go down easy, the Dragons again rallied, hitting a three-point run to close the gap to 15-17. They nearly cinched the set, looking at a 22-24 score with Garretson on the serve, but a failed serve into the net gave Baltic the set win.
The Lady Dragons came into the third set ready to win, but Baltic again settled the ball just inside the line to bring the score to 2-5. Despite solid comeback plays, Garretson just could not close that gap again, allowing Baltic to stretch the lead to 7-13. An out of bounds attack from Baltic gave Garretson the ball back with a score of 14-22, and they took advantage, shortening the spread to 17-22. With the winning point on the line at 18-24, an attempted bump sent the ball in the wrong direction, ending the set and the game.
Logan Bly (#2) led the team in kills, garnering 9 throughout the game. Aleah Wagner accomplished the sole ace, and Sydney Olson and Kaylin Koch got the blocks. Bly, Wagner, and Koch led in digs with 14, 11, and 10, respectively. Grace Hove had 19 assists.
The team will face Beresford as part of the Big East Conference on Thursday, starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Dragon's Lair.
