Lady Bucks split games in past two weeks

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School volleyball team split four games in the past two weeks to hold steady at 7-6 overall. They are 3-0 in Region 19 play.
The Lady Buckaroos were 11th in the Utah 1A standings at the start of the week with eight games remaining in the regular season.
On September 16 the girls headed to Moab to take on the rival Grand County Lady Red Devils. It was a knock-down, drag-out affair that went the distance to five sets.
Monticello fell behind with 25-20 and 25-15 losses in the first two sets and found themselves on the ropes looking at an early end to the evening.
But they dug deep to win the next two sets 25-18 and 25-16 to force a deciding fifth set. The Lady Bucks battled hard, but fell just short in a 15-8 loss.
Despite the result Monticello got some strong performances from their players. Maron Freestone led the offensive attack with 13 kills. Josie Mack assisted on 19 points and Ayslee Whipple led with two service aces.
Several girls contributed defensively for the Lady Buckaroos. Josie Mack led the defense with 21 digs. Jane Burton was right behind with 20 digs, Maron Freestone had 13, and Ayslee Whipple collected 12.
Monticello blocked five Grand County shots. Sloan Flinn led with three, Katie Francom had two, and Shelby Rogers got one.
On Tuesday, September 22 the girls traveled to Montezuma Creek to face Region 19 rival Whitehorse. Just like in Moab the game took five sets to decide, but this time it was Monticello giving up a lead and rallying for the win.
The Lady Bucks won the opening two sets 25-13 and 25-14, but Whitehorse rallied in front of their home crowd for impressive wins in sets three and four 25-20 and 25-23.
It was anybody’s game heading into the final set but it was Monticello who came out on top with a 15-9 victory. The team collected a very impressive 43 kills in the win.
Jane Burton led with 13 kills. Maron Freestone had 12 and Shelby Rogers got eight. Josie Mack and Isabelle Lundelle served up a solid six aces apiece. Mack had 22 assists in the win and Lundelle had ten.
Mack led the defense with 12 digs and three blocks. Burton and Whipple had 11 digs each, and Rogers blocked two Whitehorse shots.
On Thursday, September 24 the Lady Bucks hit the road for the third straight game, this time to Dolores, Colorado.
Monticello battled hard, but found themselves playing from behind all night long in a straight-sets loss to the Lady Bears. Final scores in each set were 25-16, 25-17, and 25-18.
This past Friday, September 25 the team returned home in need of a bounce-back win, and they got just what they ordered in a straight-sets victory over Norwood, Colorado.
The Lady Buckaroos jumped out to an early advantage with a 25-15 win in set one. They had a fight on their hands in the second frame, but held off the Lady Mustangs 25-22. Then they cruise to victory with a 25-13 win in the third set.
Shelby Rogers and Maron Freestone led the offensive attack with eight kills apiece for Monticello. Freestone served up five aces in the win with Mack sending three over. Mack led the team with 18 assists in the game.
Josie Mack also made a big defensive impact for the Lady Bucks with 12 digs on the night. Jane Burton had five digs. Sloan Flinn and Katie Francom blocked one Norwood shot apiece in the win.
The Monticello girls will continue a busy stretch with six games in the next 11 days. The team hosted Region 19 rival Green River on Tuesday, September 29 after the San Juan Record print deadline.
They’ll host another region rival in Monument Valley on Wednesday, September 30 before playing a couple of non-region home games against Water Canyon this Saturday, October 3 and Montezuma-Cortez on October 6.
The team will get back into region play with a road trip to Price to take on Pinnacle next Friday, October 9.