Stuarts Draft wakes up to knock off Lee

STUARTS DRAFT – After Game 1’s wake up call, Stuarts Draft came back to beat Robert E. Lee in four games 17-25, 25-11, 25-15 25-23 on Thursday.

Lee’s Kendra Scott dominated at the net in the first game, blocking everything that came her way.

“Scott had a really good first game,” said Stuarts Draft coach Kami Meeteer. “She got to us a little bit, but towards the end we got our groove back.”

The Cougars were unable to put the ball past Scott, but came out in Game 2 with their claws showing.

“I’m proud that my girls were good enough to comeback from that defeat and play their game,” Meeteer said.

Kills from Draft’s Kamron Johnson and Aliya Stevenson took the Cougars on a nine-point run, interrupted by a shot into the net. The Lee Ladies couldn’t get their serves over the net and an ace from Draft’s Jessi Ramsey stole the game.

Game 3 was all about the Cougars’ Stevenson and her jump serve.

“She’s worked on her serve for a while,” Meeteer said. “She does well with it, but she’s a seasoned player.”

Lee was unable to return the monstrous serves coming out of the claws of Stevenson.

“Her serve can be a threat, but all around everyone does well serving,” Meeteer said.

Stevenson single handedly took the Cougars on a five-point run with the help from Erin Brown’s assists. An ace from Stevenson and a last-hard kill from Callie Updike gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead over the Lee Ladies, taking them into the fourth and final game.

Neither team was backing down in Game 4, but Draft took the lead early forcing Lee to fight its way back. With the score tied at 18, the Lee Ladies took control. Three aces in a row from Mary Saxman took Lee on its run. Back-to-back kills from Draft’s Lindsay Iseli and Johnson tied the game again, this time at 20. Lee answered with three more points and again the Cougars had to claw their way back. A shot into the net from Lee followed by a hard kill from Draft’s Johnson ended the game.

The Cougars’ Johnson led the way with 15 kills, and 14 services points with four aces. Stevenson followed with 10 kills and Updike had nine. Erin Brown had 21 digs, 29 assists and 11 service points with two aces.

Stuarts Draft (11-7, 5-1) will face Fort Defiance on Thursday.