Lady Pirates Swept By Tigers, Second Doubleheader Match Canceled
September 18, 2018
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. - After traveling for over a week, the Independence Lady Pirates made the final stop of their lengthy road tour in Arkansas City for a doubleheader against the Cowley Tigers and Ottawa Braves. The Lady Pirates came out strong against Cowley but fell behind and never recovered falling in straight sets. The second match against Ottawa was canceled due to travel complications.
"Today was very disappointing," coach Daniela Pena said. "It's very frustrating to start off so well and just fade away the way that we did."
"Practice does make perfect, but I just feel like we've got to do some soul searching within to get this season back on track."
In the first match against Cowley, the Lady Pirates began the first set scoring on a block from Destiny Thomas after several digs from Kylie Shanahan. A kill from Thomas and an ace from Briana Prescott extended the lead to 3-0.
A 3-2 run capped by a block from Patricia Seller spread the lead to 6-2 but back to back errors cut the lead down to two. A kill by Natasha Colon made it 7-4, but the tigers went on a 6-2 run taking their first lead 10-9.
The teams exchanged blows from errors and after a 6-3 run the Cowley lead was 16-12 before a block from Thomas cut the lead to three. Thomas continued to put on a show with another kill, but a 4-1 run pushed the score to 20-14. The Lady Pirates pushed for a comeback, but a 5-1 run would pit them down a set, 15-25.
The second set began strong with kills by Thomas, Prescott and Jessi Lewman on a 4-3 Independence run, but a block from Cowley tied it up again before a kill by Colon and Kiersten Vincent gave the Lady Pirates a 6-4 advantage.
Errors played a role in the next run to tie it at 8-8 but a kill and block into the net gave the tigers a two-point advantage before a kill by Seller cut the score to 10-9.
A 3-0 run by Cowley had the Tigers leading 15-11 before a double contact and kill by Thomas cut the lead to 15-13. Kills by Thomas and Seller aided the Lady Pirates cause, but errors still occurred as the score was now 19-15 Tigers. The Lady Pirates kept fighting with kills by Prescott, but a 6-2 run would drop another set for Independence now trailing 0-2.
In the third set, the Lady Pirates found themselves down early after a 7-0 Cowley run. Miscommunications caused two more points for the Tigers, but Prescott put the Lady Pirates on the board with a kill.
Cowley continued to surge but a kill from Lewman cut the score to 13-2 before exchanges made the score 14-3 after a kill by Vincent. Colon, Thomas, Prescott and Lewman made it interesting with kills and blocks, but after an 11-6 run by the Tigers, Independence dropped the set 9-25 and the match 0-3.
The Lady Pirates are now 5-8 on the season and return home, September 20 hosting the NEO Lady Norse with first serve at 6:30 pm.