Big Weekend from Lady Royals Volleyball

Heading into a weekend where they would play four games in two days, including the #16 team in the nation Head Coach Brigitte Greywater had a lot to be excited about. Her team was riding a three game win streak, which included two MonDak Conference victories. Call it the team coming together, call it momentum, call it comradery, call it whatever you want too but the Lady Royals volleyball team is putting teams on notice. They are for real.

Of course if you ask Coach Greywater she will tell you that they still, "…need to get better and clean a few things up each match." Which is true, like in the third set in their first game against Ellsworth. The Lady Royals volleyball team jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead controlling those early sets. Then in the third they relaxed, letting Ellsworth take the set. That is all it took for them to refocus, they would come out in the fourth and dismantle Ellsworth 25-14 to win the first match 3-1.

The second match saw the Lady Royals volleyball team matched up against #16 Iowa Central. Most coaches will tell you there are no such things as moral victories but if there were ever a time for one this game would be it. The Lady Royals volleyball team gave the #16 team in the nation everything it could handle and then some in this match. They took the first set 25-22, and then Iowa Central would take the second 25-21. In the third set, both teams had settled in. This one would be a tight one throughout with LRSC winning 27-25. Iowa Central would take the fourth set 25-19 and the fifth set 15-4. Iowa Central would win the match by the score of 3-2.

Despite the setback, the Lady Royals volleyball team headed into day two with a purpose. In their first match, they dismantled Gogebic 25-6, 25-16, 25-22 winning the match 3-0. Their last game against Valley City State JV saw the Lady Royals Volleyball team post a slow start and give away the first set 25-23. They came back with a renewed energy and cruised the next three sets 25-9, 25-19, 25-21. They would take the match 3-1.

The Lady Royals would finish the weekend 3-1 with a wonderful effort against the #16 team in the nation, taking them down to the end. Coach Greywater said, "I don't think I could have asked for a better weekend from the team. It was not always clean, it was not always pretty but the girls sure fought hard all weekend and it showed. We still need to fix a few things but I am happy with our progress as a team and how we are competing."

The Lady Royals are having a big September, including this past weekend they have won 7 of their last 9 on the month. Players like freshmen Rach Hill and Dani Schwanke, along with sophomores Maara Nelson and Annie Jorgenson had big weekends for the Royals. Rachel is currently #15 in the nation in total assists. Maara Nelson is #34 in the nation in total digs. Dani Schwanke is #24 in the nation in total digs. Annie Jorgenson is #34 in the nation in total kills.

LRSC is back in action Wednesday night in a big MonDak Conference showdown against Bismarck State College in Bismarck at 7pm. They will return home on Sunday to take on DCTC 1pm at the sportscenter.

Go Royals!