By JEREMIAH WILSON

• Leader & Times

The Seward County Lady Saints volleyball team dropped a thrilling, five-set match to the Colby Trojans Wednesday night in the Greenhouse.

The Lady Saints got the crowd going early in the match, taking the first set, 25-23.

Unable to keep the momentum, Seward dropped the next two sets, 25-11, 25-11. The experience of the Trojans showed in those sets, as Colby cut down on their mistakes, and grabbed a two-set-to-one lead.

“We’re a young team,” Saints coach Bert Luallen said. “We’ve got nine freshman out there. They’ve got to learn how to make better decisions and make better plays.”

In an exciting, back-and-forth fourth set, the Lady Saints gathered themselves, and got the Greenhouse rocking, taking the set, 25-23 to force a deciding fifth set.

Seward jumped out early in the set, and looked ready to walk out with a win. Up 13-8, needing only two point to put the match away, the young Saints squad crumbled, and the Trojans scored seven consecutive points to steal the victory in five sets, 23-25, 25-11, 25-11, 23-25, 15-13.

“It was a pretty frustrating match,” Luallen said. “We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of errors. We’ve got to learn not to do those types of things.”

The Saints not only lacked the experience of the Trojans, but were also playing short-handed.

“Our setter is hurt right now,” Luallen said. “We had a non-setter running that position for us. Those things in mind, they fought hard and came back after that second and third set to push it to five. I just wish we could have had a little more experience, and been able to put the ball in play a little bit more.”

The experience and athleticism of Colby was too much for the Lady Saints to overcome.

“They’re a good team, and I give them credit for that,” Luallen said. “They’ve got a very good block, they’ve got excellent setters. Probably the best setter in the conference. They play strong and they come at you with everything they’ve got.”

Seward heads to Sterling, Colo. Friday, for tournament play over the weekend. “We’re going to play at least two, maybe three teams that are ranked in the top 20,” Luallen said. “I think it will be a good test for us.”

The Lady Saints will be back in the Greenhouse at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, when they take on Garden City.