Royals test the Tetons, but come up short in 3-1 loss

The Lake Region State College volleyball team put on one of its better performances at home on Wednesday, but Williston State College proved to be too strong. 

The Tetons extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 win (25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-14).

Defensively, the Royals played a strong game. But they struggled to turn that into points.

"We dug very well," LRSC head coach Brigitte Greywater said. "But we need to execute and we need to finish. We attack a lot of balls, but we need to get more kills. Our kill average is low. We can't have negative hitting percentages. We can't have so many errors. They're doing what I ask them to do defensively. I don't think you're going to find a better defensive team in the conference, but we need to finish on the offensive end."

After dropping the first set, the Royals came to life in the second, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead with kills from Payton Kritzberger and Hannah Hextall. LRSC extended its lead to 9-5 off a Kritzberger ace.

WSC tied the set at 11-11 and later at 13-13, but the Royals went on a 6-0 run to propel them to a set win.

The third set saw back-and-forth action. After a 15-15 score, the set was tied five more times, but it was the Tetons who pulled out a 25-22 win.

WSC continued its momentum into the fourth set, winning 25-14 to get the match win.

Despite the loss, Greywater said her biggest takeaway was what she saw from her team on defense.

"So much fun to watch them dig," Greywater said. "Really, that was fun. Maddie Wallace did a nice job at libero. I think Evan Stack is a great defensive player. She never let up defensively. That's why an outside is leading us with 25 digs."

The team was noticeably clicking much better than in past matches. Still sitting winless in the Mon-Dak Conference, the Royals now play the second half of their conference schedule.

"We passed so well today," Greywater said. "When we pass that well, they've got to defend us. But we can't kill ourselves with errors. The click is there. It's getting over the hurdle. If you look at the average amount of digs this team is getting, we're setting up the ball more than any team. But we're not finishing at the net."