RICHARDTON -- Tuesday's District 14 match at Richardton-Taylor High School featured a battle within a battle between the Raiders' star senior Katie Zent and Killdeer's 6-foot senior Tana Trotter.
The outcome was not determined by Trotter and Zent's individual play however. The battle was won by those around them.
With Trotter helpless offensively, Zent led the Raiders to a 25-20, 25-17, 25-14, win over the Cowboys and broke the school's record for kills in a career.
Zent notched 14 kills to become the Raiders' career leader at 1,212. The previous mark was 1209, set by Nicci Schorsch from 1995-2000.
"It's nice to leave something behind at the school," Zent said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trotter was able to contain Zent at times with her blocking but the battle was a one-sided affair for the most part with Zent attacking and Trotter blocking.
Killdeer struggled to set up their senior captain all night while Zent received frequent support from her teammates.
Mandy Naumann, a senior setter, notched 25 assists while Kaylee Stein pitched in eight kills and three aces.
"You need someone opposite Katie and when Stein can come through and have a big night with some kills like that, it really balances the front row," Raiders coach Brian Filibeck said. "Mandy Naumann is our setter and she had some nice sets.
"We moved the ball around and got some quicks to the middle and to the right side. It slowed down their block."
Trotter and Zent started the night going head-to-head up front at the net. Early on, it was all Trotter. The six-footer was able to block Zent's attacks or force her to hit long in an attempt to clear the tall black.
Zent was finally able to break through Trotter's block attempts and really caught fire by diverting her kills around Trotter all together, twisting shots to the left and right.
"I hit some dinks to good zones where they weren't playing defense," Zent said. "You can't always have a big kill. You just have to play smart sometimes."
ADVERTISEMENT
With Trotter receiving little help offensively, tip drills at the net became her best offensive chances but even those were falling in Zent's favor.
"She's tall so it's fun when you can win some of those battles at the net against her," Zent said. "With her height, it's kind of tough."
The two sides backed off each other and took defensive roles in Games 2 and 3 by playing the back row. Zent finished with 16 digs while Trotter picked up 15.
Zent was still just as lethal, however, with the jump serve working for her again Tuesday, though she struggled early on. After missing on two of her first three serves, Zent hit 11 of her next 13, finishing with six aces on the night.
Trotter was limited to only nine kills, two blocks and the Cowboys' lone ace. The rest of Trotter's teammates accounted for only six kills. As a team, Killdeer posted only 10 assists.
"When you got someone that's six foot on that side of the net, you have to pay attention to them," Filibeck said. "You have to think about what we can do to minimize her damage. I think we did a great job of that tonight."
