Lady Raiders Aiming to Return to State

SIDNEY - The Sidney Lady Raider volleyball team is entering the upcoming season with a mix of anticipation and change. After a successful previous season where they achieved a 28-7 record and made a return to the state tournament after a two-year absence, the team is now faced with the challenge of filling the void left by three valuable seniors who graduated.

Reese Riddle, Gabby Fortner, and Rheagan Stanley, made significant contributions to the team's success. All-conference setter, Reese Riddle, orchestrated the team's offensive with 877 assists. Gabby Fortner, a middle blocker, led the team with 31 ace blocks, and all-conference Libero, Rheagan Stanley, played a crucial role in the team's defense, amassing 445 digs and 510 successful serve receives.

Although this year’s Lady Raider squad has some big shoes to fill, they still return a solid core. The top three hitters from the previous season are back – Karsyn Leeling, Kayla Westby, and Chloe Ahrens. Senior Karsyn Leeling, with 382 kills, led the team in kills last season, and looks to improve those numbers this year. Junior Kayla Westby and senior Chloe Ahrens also made valuable contributions with 218 and 195 kills respectively. Add in pair of starters in senior Payton Schrotberger and junior Deanna Horst, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, Sidney has a strong nucleus to build on.

Head coach Julie Smith is optimistic about her team's prospects, noting the higher level of competition she’s seen in practice. “It’s a different level of competition that we’re seeing this year,” Smith said. “The girls are excited, they’re working hard. It’s not your typical first week of practice, second week of practice. These girls, we’re challenging them at a different level than we have before, and it’s exciting to see how they are responding.”

The Lady Raiders will be challenged early as the open the season with a pair of road games this week. Sidney will travel to Sterling Colorado to face the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and then make another trip to Colorado to take on Yuma at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.