Lancers Finding Their Game

The Lewiston-Porter Lady Lancers entered Thursday’s game in search of more consistency from start to finish.

On this night they felt as if they achieved it. Now, it’s a matter of keeping it going.

Bella Susino had five aces and four kills as the Lancers handed a 3-0 loss to a very scrappy CSAT Eagels squad in Niagara Frontier League volleyball action that was played at CSAT’s Sports Complex in North Buffalo.

“Definitely,” Susino said. “We work really hard to keep the consistency. Every single day in practice we work really hard even though we have really long days. Some people have to go straight to work right after a really tough practice.”

Improving to 2-4 in the NFL, the Lancers closed out set three with a decisive 25-14 win. It was sets one and two that were the real nail-biters as Lew-Port had to fend off an Eagles squad that drew energy from their boisterous fan base.

Lew-Port managed to score wins of 25-19 and 25-20, but they were hard battles every step of the way. Middle hitter Kiara King was especially effective for the Eagles as she collected five blocks on the night.

The Lancers received strong serves from Sophie Barner (five aces) and Mari Salada (three aces) as a way to turn the tide in it’s favor.

Lewiston-Porter coach Paula Singleton, who saw her girls battle hard in an emotional five-set loss to North Tonawanda on Tuesday, was very proud of the way her team rebounded with the win.

“Ultimately we’d like to put more kills down than we are right now, but we’re progressing,” said Singleton. “We’re where I thought we would be right now. I know by the end of the season we’ll be even better.”

Making their first trip to CSAT, who just entered the NFL this year, the Lancers confessed they weren’t sure what to expect for their new opponents, their gym and fan base. Susino commented that even though CSAT fans were loud, she was pleased with the way she and her teammates were able to remain mentally tough and not be distracted.

“A lot of girls play other sports also and there’s a lot of fans for that as well,” Susino said, “so we just tune it out and we try to keep going every game no matter what the distraction is… I really love this team. I couldn’t imagine ending my senior season with anyone else.”

For the Eagles, who are now 0-7 in league, coach Doug Whitehead knows full-well his girls need that reward of an actual win to believe they are improving. But Whitehead also wants his girls to know that the sense of competing and the desperation that they showed are signs that they aren’t that far off the mark.

“They’re not far off at all,” Whitehead said. “They’re so close. There’s a couple times where they get a little down on themselves and they just need to develop a better short-term memory. Forget what you did wrong. Make sure it doesn’t happen again and build off the good stuff you are doing.”