McCook players, clockwise, Riley Sis, Bailey Honn, Holli Thomas, Kassidy Michaelis and JoAnn Neel celebrate a point at the McCook Triangular. McCook had plenty to celebrate Saturday and will look to have more success in the B-7 Sub-District.
Gabe Gauthier/McCook Gazette
NORFOLK, Neb. -- McCook recorded its school-record 21st and 22nd wins at Saturday’s GNAC (Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference) Tournament in Norfolk.
The previous record of 20 wins was set in 2016, when the Lady Bison went 20-14.
The Lady Bison entered Saturday’s tournament with a 20-9 record and won their first two matches before falling to Kearney High in the championship.
No. 3 McCook opened with a 2-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22) win over No. 6 Norfolk.
Riley Sis led the Lady Bison with 13 kills, while Erika Fisher recorded 22 digs.
“We struggled in the first set versus Norfolk but made some adjustments defensively and played much better the final two sets,” said McCook head coach Dennis Troester.
The win over the host Panthers put McCook into a key semifinal match with No. 2 Hastings High. The Lady Bison swept the Lady Tigers 2-0 (25-22, 25-18).
Sis’ five kills were enough to lead McCook, while Jaden Bryant and Cameron Lashley each had four terminations.
As a team, McCook held a .145 to .032 advantage over Hastings High. The Lady Bison were outhit 19-16 in kills, but only committed six errors to Hastings’ 16.
“We struggled early but managed to get better as we progressed through the first set,” Troester commented. “The second set was tight throughout but we opened up some space toward end of set.”
A perfect 2-0 record pushed McCook into Saturday’s GNAC Championship match against No. 1 Kearney High. The Class A Lady Bearcats put an end to McCook’s run by defeating the Lady Bison 2-0 (25-14, 25-16).
Bryant and Sis both hit three kills to lead the Lady Bison attack. Jaceea Hanson had two blocks, while Holli Thomas and Kassidy Michaelis notched four digs each.
McCook was limited to .072 hitting while Kearney went .250 on its end.
Despite the loss, Troester was proud of his team’s performance in the championship match.
“Kearney is a very good team and we were with them point for point to 12 points in the first set and then things started to progress backwards. They run a very quick offense and have excellent hitters and defensive players.”
With Saturday’s 2-1 record, McCook finished the regular season with a 22-10 record.
The Lady Bison now move on to sub-district play. McCook will host the B-7 Sub-District Tournament tomorrow (Tuesday) at McCook Senior High.
McCook is the top-seed in the B-7 Tournament and will play No. 4 Lexington (3-23 record) in the first round at 5 p.m. No. 2 Hastings (22-9) and No. 3 Holdrege (6-22) battle at 6:30 p.m. First round winners will play for the B-7 Sub-District championship at 8 p.m.
sports1@mccookgazette.com
@gabegauthier1
Menu
