Lady Pirates Get Win Over Dodge City In Tight Four-Set Battle
September 14, 2018
DODGE CITY, Kan. - Wrapping up a three-game road trip for the week, the Lady Pirates (5-7, 2-3) hit the road to face the Dodge City Conquistadors (1-14, 0-6). The match was tight the whole way through due to errors and miscommunications from both sides, but with some unexpected help coming from the bench Independence picked up the victory, 3-1.
"I am always happy to get a win, but the way we played was very disappointing," coach Daniela Pena said. "Our usual impact players weren't playing with the effort that we expect from the program, we got most of our points off mistakes from the other team and players that came off the bench performed better than normal starters."
"We need to mature as a team and play with more pride going forward."
Two players in particular off the bench that stood out with their hustle and outstanding effort to coach Pena were Kalli Stephens and Anachariz Cruz.
"I thought that we played well for the most part tonight," Stephens said. "Even though we struggled at times, everyone was into the match with all the noise and support to finish and get the victory. Now we just have to tweak some things and get ready for the next opponent."
"The match went pretty well," Cruz said. "We came out a little slow, but we were able to put it together in the end and get a win tonight."
"We were down at times, but we never gave up and continued to fight through the struggles and our remaining schedule is very competitive, so we will have to play harder, hit harder, not allow the ball to drop on our side, play with heart and do what we have to do to get more victories."
In the first set, a Destiny Thomas Kill drew first blood and a double touch following a spike from Bri Prescott made it gave the Lady Pirates a 2-0 lead. A 3-1 run for Dodge City made it 4-3 but Thomas answered with a spike pushing the lead to 5-3.
The Conquistadors went on a 3-0 run, but Thomas struck again tying the set at 6-6. The teams battled back and forth on a 9-9 even run until a kill by Natasha Colon put Independence ahead 15-14. Dodge City answered but Colon answered with another kill giving the Lady Pirates a 17-16 advantage.
The Conquistadors answered again before Kiersten Vincent delivered a shot to make it 18-17 Independence. A 3-3 even run had it tied a 20-20 after a Prescott kill and a kill from Thomas followed by a block from Patricia Seller gave the Lady Pirates a 22-20 advantage.
Back to back errors from Independence tied the set again at 22-22, but a hit out of bounds had Independence back ahead before a Prescott kill pushed the lead to 24-22. Dodge City came within one, but it was Thomas ending it with a kill and Independence took the first set 25-22.
The second set began with a 2-0 run for the Conquistadors before Jessi Lewman put the Lady Pirates on the board with a kill and an ace by Prescott tied it at 2-2. Independence got several digs from Alessia Laghi but some miscommunication gave Dodge City a 4-2 advantage.
The Conquistadors went on a 3-1 run extending their lead to 7-3 before Thomas spiked the ball cutting the lead to three. Vincent, Colon and Patricia Seller got Independence back in it with a kill, ace and a big block, but miscues continued on a 6-4 run pushing the lead to 13-7.
A 3-1 run for the Lady Pirates cut the lead to for and a hit out of bounds and an ace from Prescott made it 14-12 before another error and a ball into the net tied the set at 14-14. Dodge City went on a 2-0 run before a double touch cut their lead to one and a kill from Thomas tied it at 16-16.
The teams exchanged blows before a tip over by Kalli Stephens put Independence back up 18-17. Dodge City tied it with a kill but Vincent put the Lady Pirates back in the lead and a ball in the net pushed the lead to 20-18.
Back to back service errors had the score at 21-19 and a kill from the Conquistadors cut the lead to one before two blocks had Dodge City leading by one. The Lady Pirates battled back but would drop the set 23-25 and the match was tied 1-1.
In the third set, the teams exchanged blows before a ball in the net followed by a kill from Noleyshka Santiago and a push too far had Independence leading 6-3. Consecutive errors and an ace tied the set at 6-6 before an error and two more kills from Santiago had the lead at 9-6 for the Lady Pirates.
The Conquistadors were on a 2-0 run, but a save from Anachariz Cruz pushed the score to 10-8 and a kill by Santiago pushed the lead to three. Dodge City answered on a 4-2 run but Prescott attacked again extending the Independence lead to two before a kill by Thomas made the score 15-12.
A 2-1 run capped by an ace from Prescott pushed the Lady Pirates' to a 17-13 advantage, and a double contact followed by a ball in the net pushed the lead to six. Thomas attacked again pushing the lead to seven and a hit out of bounds had the score 21-13.
A 2-0 run from the Conquistadors cut the lead to six before another ball in the net made the score 22-15 and even though Dodge City outscored Independence 8-3, a kill by Prescott gave the Lady Pirates the set 25-23 and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set began with a dynamite kill from Seller set up by Stephens and a ball hit out of bounds giving the Lady Pirates a 2-0 lead early, but a 5-0 run from the Conquistadors gave Dodge City a three-point lead before back to back errors cut the lead to 5-4.
A 3-3 run from Independence off errors and a kill from seller tied it at 7-7 and a 2-0 run capped on a kill from Shelymar Diaz off a dig from Cruz gave the Lady Pirates a 9-7 lead. Independence had a four-point lead after 3-1 run, but a kill cut the lead to 12-9.
A run of 5-2 for Dodge City off errors tied the set at 14-14, but miscues pushed the Lady Pirates ahead again 16-14 and a 4-4 run the score at 18-18 back to back miscues put the Conquistadors ahead 20-18. Jessi Lewman killed the ball and a ball to the net tied the score at 20-20 before a block out of bounds and another net ball had the Lady Pirates ahead 22-20.
Santiago delivered a kill and a double contact made it a four-point lead. A ball in the net cut the lead to three and back to back hits out of bounds followed by a block tied it at 24-24 before a kill by Santiago put it at 25-24 Independence and a combo block from Santiago and Thomas gave the Lady Pirates the 26-24 win in the set for the victory.
Next up for the Lady Pirates is a doubleheader in Arkansas City, Tuesday Sept. 18, where Independence takes on the Cowley Tigers and Ottawa Braves with all the action beginning at 4 pm.