CCS tackles tough Panhandle tourney

    The early part of the week looked familiar to the Chase County volleyball team. The Longhorns traveled to Gothenburg for their annual triangular with Perkins County and the Swedes.
    Friday and Saturday were something entirely new, when CCS traveled to Scottsbluff for the two-day Twin City Invite.
Gothenburg triangular
    The Sept. 27 games kicked off with a match against 20-2 Gothenburg. The Swedes are ranked fourth in Class C1.
    Head Coach April Lambert said the Longhorns stuck with Gothenburg up until about midway through the set and then had a frustrating run of errors.  
    CCS trailed 11-13 before giving up five straight points to the Swedes. Four straight points by Gothenburg closed out the 14-25 CCS loss.
    The teams were tied 7-7 in the second set, but CCS was outscored 4-15 en route to losing the set 13-25.
    “Gothenburg is a smart attacking team, and they did a good job making adjustments and finding holes in our defense.  We gave them too many free balls and couldn’t get attacks in transition,” Lambert said.
    The Longhorns moved on to sweep the Plainsmen. CCS broke open a close set one, with a five-point run and claimed a 25-18 win.
    Chase County grabbed an 8-0 lead in the second set and never looked back, winning 25-13.
    Lambert said Perkins County was very scrappy but CCS controlled the game with strong serving, passing and attacking.
Twin City Invite
    The Twin City Invite features teams from Class A North Platte, Class B Gering, Scottsbluff, Alliance, Sidney, Crete, Grand Island Northwest, McCook, Class C1 Chadron, Ogallala and Wyoming schools Burns, St. Thomas Moore and Torrington, as well as South Dakota schools Rapid City Central and Rapid City Stevens.
    The teams were placed into four four-team pools for Friday’s games then seeded into two Saturday eight-team tournaments.
    CCS played Rapid City Stevens, McCook and Scottsbluff in pool play.
    Heading into the tournament, Lambert said starting off with three teams from higher classes would push the Longhorns to play some great volleyball.  
    Chase County played 14-6 RC Stevens, comparable in size to a Nebraska Class A school, for their first game. RC Stevens would go on to win the tournament.
    Lambert said CCS came out a little wide-eyed against Rapid City Stevens. Chase County lost the match 19-25, 16-25.
    “We did not serve or pass well and were barely in our offense at all. They had some stronger hitters and an attacking setter, which was new for some of our players. We had to adjust our level of play quickly,” she said, adding she was proud of how they came out against Scottsbluff in their next match.  
    CCS beat the 16-11 Bearcats 25-15, 25-16.
    “We were very aggressive on both serve and attack and controlled the match,” Lambert said.  
    The Longhorns stayed aggressive in their final pool match against McCook (6-15). It was the third time CCS has played the Bison this year and the result was the same as the previous meetings. Chase County won 25-16, 25-18.
    “We kept them out of system with aggressive serving and returned a lot of balls from many different hitters,” Lambert said, pointing out Bryn McNair had five aces in the match.
    Overall it was the Longhorns’ best serving match in the tournament, 95.9%.
    With their 2-1 pool record, CCS was seeded into the Gold bracket with the tournament’s other top seven teams.
    Saturday, the Longhorns started off against Grand Island Northwest (12-11).
    Lambert said GINW was a very well-matched opponent to Chase County.  
    “We did well for most of the match and then had a run of errors in certain rotations that got us in trouble,” she said.
    The Longhorns lost the match 21-25, 22-25.
    CCS faced Crete (14-11) in the consolation semifinals, falling 18-25, 20-25.
    “Crete also gave us trouble with some quick setting and dominant hitters. Our block just wasn’t effective. We have some younger girls blocking and also a shorter middle block,” Lambert said, adding, she will look to make some adjustments this week that put it in a more favorable position as the season continues.  
    Chase County claimed seventh place with a 25-19, 31-29 win over North Platte (7-19) to wrap up the tournament.
    “We came out very aggressive and tried to limit our errors. I was very proud of the girls for a resilient comeback in the second set after being down to win the match. They played without fear of losing, which is a mental piece of the game we have been working on,” Lambert said. Up next
    A triangular with Southwest (17-4) and North Platte St. Pat’s (7-11) was Tuesday in Bartley. Southwest is currently ranked seventh in Class C2.
    Lambert said it was going to be another tough match to help the Longhorns see how they stack up against a top team with the adjustments they would make on Monday based on what CCS learned in Scottsbluff.
    Also on the schedule for the week is a Thursday home matchup with Perkins County (7-13).
    The SPVA tourney will be Oct. 15 in Grant.