The Garretson Lady Dragons advanced to the next round of the Region 3A Quarterfinals on Monday night, taking out opponent West Central in three sets.
At this point in regions, it's anyone's play, despite seed standings from the season prior.
"We had just played West Central two weeks prior, so we were confident on what to expect," said assistant coach Kelsey Buchholz. "The girls were able to execute and advance to Thursday."
The game, which was switched to Monday instead of Tuesday due to schedule conflicts, was held in the Dragon's Lair. The first two sets the Dragons came out to play, winning the first set by 15 points and the second by 11 points. During the third set, the Dragons had some trouble executing their usual blocks and kills, giving West Central the chance to gather points. The Dragons were still victorious, pulling out the W 25-18.
"We are really playing it one game at a time," said Buchholz. "So our next focus is Thursday, and regardless of who we play, we need to take care of our side of the court, play our game."
The athletes truly dug in during this game, with scoreboard leaders Jaelyn Benson, Lily Ranschau, and Lexi Gawarecki getting 13, 10, and 9 digs, respectively. Alli Gawarecki, Kaylin Koch, and Maren Bonte had 7, 6, & 4 digs, respectively.
Benson had 30 assists and Ranschau led in kills with 13. Junior Logan Bly had 9 kills, while Anna Jones and Kaylin Koch accumulated 6 and 5, respectively.
Koch put 3 aces in the hole and A. Gawarecki had one ace.
The Dragons will be taking on Madison in Harrisburg tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m. The winner of this evening's game will advance to the SoDak 16, which will take place next Tuesday, November 9.
