Granite wins round one of county volleyball rivalry

DRUMMOND – The Lady Prospectors took the first of two regular season matches against their cross-county rivals in Drummond Tuesday night, beating the Lady Trojans 25-17, 25-12, 21-25, 25-20.

As the match opened, it was clear that the two squads were evenly matched. Drummond got out to an early 10-5 lead before Granite rallied to tie the game at 12-all. The Lady Prospectors took a 13-12 lead that forced a Lady Trojan timeout. Drummond would tie it on the next point, but when Granite’s Shelby Struna stepped to the service line she rattled off five points to give the visitors an 18-13 advantage and eventually the win.

Something happened in Game 2 that saw the Lady Trojans fall off the pace early and never recover. The Lady Prospectors ran out to a 14-7 lead and extended it for the win.

“Our fear of losing took over our desire to win,” said Lady Trojan Head Coach Brooks Phillips. “It’s something we need to work on. It’s a new position that some of these girls are in this year, being the starter and not being the back up. It’s something they’ll have to get use to.”

Whatever went wrong for Drummond in Game 2, the Lady Trojans fixed it temporarily in Game 3. The two teams stayed close throughout, but the hosts pulled away at the end to secure the victory and trail Granite 2-1 in the match.

“It’s that same song and dance,” observed Granite Head Coach Jennifer Graham. “It’s getting them to that level where they’re playing as a team and maintain that mental edge. It’s getting them to all come together as a team and focusing on that next point. Not the game or the match, but just that next point.”

As the Lady Prospectors regained their focus, they made their final push to secure the win and the match,

Amelia Hill led Granite with 12 kills while Reece Pitcher chipped in 2-1/2 blocks. Shelby Struna had a solid night, leading the Lady Prospectors in Digs (15), Assists (17) and Aces (6).

Hannah Bradshaw and Sydney Phillips were tops in kills for Drummond with four each, while Bradshaw also led the hosts in aces with six. Senior Rylee Hilmo managed to collect double figures in digs (17) and assists (11).

Both squads will be back in action Thursday. Drummond will host Whitehall in a varsity-only matchup at 6 p.m. while Granite will host Sheridan in games that begin with lower-level play at 4 p.m.