SIDNEY - The Sidney volleyball team burst from the gate in the first set Thursday night at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility and played arguably their best match of the season. The Lady Raiders, who have struggled with inconsistency the past couple of weeks, found their stride in a 25-20, 25-16, 25-15 win over Western Conference foe Alliance.

A huge factor for Sidney was their ability to keep serving errors, which had plagued the Lady Raiders, in many of their matches, to a minimum while amassing seven ace serves against the Bulldogs.

Sidney never trailed in the first set as they bolted to an 9-3 lead, forcing an Alliance timeout. The Lady Raiders extended that lead to 11-3 before Alliance put a 5-point run together to cut the lead to 11-8. The Bulldogs could not get any closer as Karsyn Leeling and Alecca Campbell combined for 5 kills to close out the set 25-20.

Alliance, who led only two times in the match, jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. But the advantage was short-lived as Emilee Wieser served up a pair of aces and Gabby Fortner and Kayla Westby added a kill apiece to put Sidney on top to stay. Emilee Wieser tallied 4 kills in the set as the Lady Raiders finished the second with 12 kills and a 25-16 win.

The Bulldogs only other lead on the night came at 5-4 in the third set. Tied at 8, Sidney exploded with an 8-1 run to take control of the set and finish the match with a 25-15 win.

Karsyn Leeling led the Sidney offense with 10 kills while Alecca Campbell added 8 kills and 14 digs. Junior Libero Rheagan Stanley finished with a team-high 17 digs and setter Reese Riddle served up 3 aces while collecting 14 assists. Chloe Ahrens kept the Bulldog offense in check with 4 blocks.

Sidney is now 5-5 on the season and will have a weekend off before a busy week next week. The Lady Raiders travel to Chase County on Tuesday for a match, then to Gering for a triangular with Gering and Mitchell, before heading to Aurora on Saturday for a tournament.