Lady Cats coach optimistic despite early season losses

The Lady Bobcats volleyball team of Hot Springs County High School has dropped their first five matches of the season, but despite their record, coach Shannon Hill is confident that her team can turn this season around.

The Lady Bobcats lost a tough five-game match at home against Wind River on Thursday, after which coach Hill said, "We need to work on consistency throughout both our offense and defense, and finishing is a big thing we need to work on right now."

Lizzy Lofink was a key contributor on both defense and offence for the Lady Bobcats on Thursday night with 15 digs and four aces. Korey Smith led the team on offense with 12 kills.

Just a day after their tough home loss against Wind River, the Lady Bobcats traveled to Cody to take part in the Border War Tournament. The Bobcats put up a fierce fight against two Montana teams on Friday, losing to Hardin in four sets and Billings Central in three. "Both of these Montana teams put up big blocks and had a quicker offense that we are not used to playing against," Hill said.

Two matches on Saturday saw similar results, with the Lady Bobcats losing two hard fought, five-game matches against Sidney and Miles City. Hill said that the team will be focusing on finishing in preparation for their upcoming participation in the Big Horn Tourna0ment.

"We are playing very competitively right now however we are not quite to the point where we are finishing games and playing comfortably," Hill said. "We will get there, it's just going to take some grit and determination."