Lady Tigers dropped from District following loss against Middleton

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers kept their volleyball season alive Monday night, downing Caldwell in five sets, but lost to Middleton for the third time in six nights to be eliminated from the District III 4A volleyball tourney.

Mountain Home 3, Caldwell 2

For the second time in a week, Caldwell forced Mountain Home to five sets, but as they did on Oct. 13, the Lady Tigers prevailed again last week to stay alive in the district tourney, beating the Lady Cougars 3-2 in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium in Mountain Home.

The first set had six ties and four lead changes, with Mountain Home leading most of the way until the Lady Cougars grabbed the lead at 19-18 and went on to win 25-23.

The first set loss seemed to wake Mountain Home up, as they breezed to a 25-10 win in the second set and won the third set 25-15.

In the fourth set, Mountain Home took the lead early, leading by as much as four points on a couple occasions, the last at 11-7, before the Lady Cougars went on a 7-0 run to lead 14-11. Caldwell's lead also went to four, at 23-19, before Mountain home battled back to tie the set at 23-23. Caldwell then won the last two points to claim a 25-23 win and force a deciding fifth set.

Mountain Home fell behind 0-4 at the start of the fifth set, but an 8-0 run gave them the lead, 8-4. After a series of ties, Caldwell took a 14-13 lead. The Lady Tigers then went up 15-14 before Caldwell tied it at 15-15. Mountain Home then scored the final two points to win the set, 17-15, and the match, 3-2.

"We definitely struggled with consistency," said Mountain Home volleyball coach Jill Peterson. "The game is a slower pace against Caldwell, and we have trouble... playing our own level of speed."

Sable Lohmeier led the Lady Tigers with 16 kills, five blocks and three service aces. Demery Dean had 12 kills and eight service aces. Jessica Ruffing had 12 kills and three aces, Mattie Bennett 11 kills and two aces, and Ksyenya Peterson had 50 assists and six aces.

Middleton 3, Mountain Home 0

Mountain Home then faced Middleton again -- the fourth time of the season and the third time in six nights -- playing in the consolation semi-final last Tuesday night at Middleton.

The Lady Tigers were hoping for a different outcome, but Middleton prevailed, winning in three straight.

Mountain Home started slow, losing the first set 13-25. They found their intensity in the next two sets, but dropped both, 22-25 and 21-25, to see their season come to a close.

"We just couldn't pull it out tonight," said Coach Peterson. "I think we played the best we've played against them this season, with the exception of the first set.

"Our hitters were more effective against their blocks than past games, and we got more blocks touches on their hitters, the coach added. "Unfortunately, our setter came down on one of Middleton's player's feet and rolled her ankle in the third set. Everyone stepped up and played harder after that. Kudos to Jessica Ruffing for setting amazingly and for Kristen Cook who jumped into right side hitter -- a position she hasn't played all year. We nearly pulled out that third set despite our change in personnel."

Jessica Ruffing had six kills, three service aces and two assists. Ksyenya Peterson had 17 assists, two kills and two aces. Demery Dean had six kills and an ace. Mattie Bennett had four kills and nine digs, and Sable Lohmeier had six kills.

Coach Peterson loses three seniors to graduation -- her setter, libero and an outside hitter. Despite those losses, she is excited about next season.

"I'm encouraged by the three sophomores on varsity this year," the coach said. "They played key roles for us and will undoubtedly take on more leadership next year. Hopefully during the off-season, they improve some basic skills and make an impact on varsity next year."