Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Hayden volleyball team split its two recent matches to remain above .500 with less than a week of games remaining in the regular season.

Hayden fell to Baggs, Wyo., 15-7, 15-8, Tuesday night in Hayden in non-league action.

Tigers coach Kipp Rillos said it was a simple case of his team allowing the opposition to build early momentum with quick points. He said the Hayden girls had a hard time overcoming the deficits en route to the defeat.

The loss moved the Tigers to 9-8 overall for the season. Hayden is 4-3 in league play after picking up a straight-game victory over West Grand in its homecoming match on Oct. 11.

The Tigers won easily in the first game 15-4 and hung on in the second, 19-17, with most of the starters seeing limited action in the second game.

"The girls played well," Rillos said. "Once again, we got to play everybody."

The statistics showed it.

Seniors Samantha Schoeberl and Adriana Svoboda combined for 15 kills against the Mustangs, while senior Diane Hull dished out 14 assists.

Svoboda and sophomore Kayla Kostur served for seven and six points, respectively, while non-starters Crystal Raffensperger and Whitney Bell made use of their playing time, contributing a combined seven points from the service line and one kill.

Winners in their homecoming game, the Tigers will now try to beat Soroco during its homecoming week. Hayden defeated the Rams earlier this season in a non-league matchup.

Rillos said he would like Hayden to finish the season against Soroco and Grand Valley in impressive fashion before opening districts in Paonia on Oct. 26.