By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
The Alliance Bulldogs volleyball program had their home opener on Tuesday night, but South Dakota power Rapid City Christian used key runs in important moments to win 3-0. (25-15, 25-23- 25-14)
Alliance Head Coach Manda Clarke says her team started the match slow and against an elite team that is hard to overcome.
"Our plan was to take them out of system and we had a hard time receiving serves," Clarke said. "We also had a hard time getting our offense going so it was a double-edged sword."
After a tough first set, Alliance settled into the 2nd set before another Comets big run gave RCC a commanding 24-17 lead, forcing Clarke to call a timeout. Alliance went on a 7-0 run behind the strong serving of Haylie Winter and got the score to 24-23 before a service error gave the set to Rapid City Christian 25-23.
"I'm really proud how the girls bounced back in the 2nd set, overall it was a good battle." Clarke said.
Down 2-0, the Bulldogs fell behind 5-0 in the 3rd set and eventually made a comeback near the middle of the set before an 8-0 run for RCC helped the Comets pull away 25-14.
Jaelynne Clarke led Alliance with 11 kills and 4 blocks. Kinley Pfeiffer had 2 aces as well for the Bulldogs.
Alliance falls to 5-3 overall with a trip to Western Conference foe Scottsbluff looming on Thursday. Rapid City Christian improves their record to 6-0.