The Baltic Bulldog volleyball team hosted the McCook Central/Montrose Cougars on Monday, October 5th. After Baltic won the first two sets, the Cougars took the next three to win the match by scores of 15-25, 27-29, 25-20, 25-21, and 15-9.
After an early 4-4 tie to start the first set, Baltic took a 9-7 lead. They followed that with a 4-1 run to make the score 14-8. The Bulldogs continued to roll through the first set and led 23-12 before winning 25-15. The second set started with a 1-1 tie. The Cougars then scored 10 straight points to go ahead 11-1. Baltic would spend most of the second set chipping away at the lead. They cut the lead in half at 18-13. The Bulldogs were able to get within two points, 24-22, and then rallied to tie the score 24-24. The teams traded points to ties at 25-25, 26-26, and 27-27. Baltic rallied for two straight points to earn the 29-27 come-from-behind win.
The third set started with a 2-2 tie, but then Balitc took an early 5-3 lead. They continued to lead at 8-6, but McCook Central/Montrose went on a 4-1 run to go in front 10-9. That run sparked some momentum as the Cougars were able to extend their lead to 18-14. Baltic was only able to get within three points, 21-18, as McCook Central/Montrose took the third set 25-20. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead to start the fourth set. The Cougars responded with a 7-2 run of their own to tie the score 9-9. After Baltic went back in front 13-12, McCook Central/Montrose went on a 6-1 run to grab an 18-14 advantage. That run was enough to keep them in front the rest of the set to a 25-21 win forcing a fifth set.
Baltic took an early 2-1 lead to start the fifth and final set. They continued to lead at 5-3 and 7-5. The Cougars would go on a 3-0 run to take an 8-7 lead and steal the momentum. McCook Central/Montrose continued their run to a 12-8 lead before finishing with a 15-9 victory.
