Wildcats mine out a win against Golddiggers

The Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers came mining for a win Oct. 28 at the Armory, but the Custer Wildcats sent them packing with a three-set sweep. 
Before the game the Wildcats celebrated Senior Night to honor Ava Jaure, Kylee Ellerton, Lyncoln Robb, Keira Nelson, Kally Trump and Ava Hohn as well as team managers Bella Petersen and Madysen Bergeron. 
One by one, the name of each senior girl was announced. As she walked across the court, she was met by her family members, often carrying flowers and bags of goodies. The Wildcats also recognized Lead-Deadwood seniors and provided gifts for the girls.
After that, it was game time, and Trump opened with some solid serves, as the other senior girls hustled to put points on the board. The Wildcats dominated the court in the first set, maintaining control of the ball for the better part of the game and quickly putting points on the board. The Wildcats won decisively at 25-11. 
“It went very well. We were very pleased with how it went. We knew that they have been improving throughout the season, so we were happy to get that in three sets and get all of our seniors to start,” said head coach Jill Hohn. 
Starting with all the seniors changed up the team’s usual rotation, but Hohn said the girls adjusted well. 
“They just did a great job. We executed everything well. We had great teamwork. Our back row played well. We had good hits. They played very, very well,” said Hohn. She said serving looked good as well. 
In the second and third sets the Golddiggers dug in hard, pulling the scores closer. However, the Wildcats won out 25-22 and 25-21. 
“We had to work. We made some errors that gave them some points, but they definitely are a much better team. They did a good job, so kudos to them. It was nice to see them do well as well,” said Hohn. 
Some standout performances came from Taylor Busch and Kylee Ellerton, Hohn said. 
Hohn said Busch “is feeling more comfortable in that position. She’s feeling more comfortable hitting, and she really gets to a lot of the blocks.” 
Meanwhile, Ellerton has been a consistent player for the Wildcats throughout the season as the team’s libero. 
“She just does such a good job at that libero position. She’s all over the court, and she makes some amazing plays. She’s so consistent. She’s been consistent all year. I’d say that consistency has helped us so much,” said Hohn. 
With the win, the Custer Wildcats faced the Hot Springs Bison for the first round of region play, Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the Armory. 
The Wildcats beat the Bison twice this season, but the Bison triumphed over the ’Cats in their last match-up. 
“It’s going to be a tough game tonight. We’ll see how things go,” said Hohn. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to adjust to some changes we need to make, and hopefully the girls will be excited to come out.” 
Whoever wins this round will move on to the region semifinal in Rapid City Thursday, Nov. 6, where they will face the St. Thomas More Cavaliers at 6 p.m. The results of the Hot Springs game were not available at publication time.