Swedes fall to Valentine, Ogallala.

COZAD—Emotions were high in the Cozad High School gym last week.

Not only was Oct. 26 the first time the cross-county rivals met in head-to-head action on the volleyball court this season but the coaches had coordinated a “pink out” cancer benefit and it was also the Haymaker’s parents night.

“I knew Cozad would be emotionally into it,” said Swede coach Becky Costello of the winless Haymakers. “They had every reason to get up for this game.”

Cozad was definitely pumped for the game but it was Gothenburg that came away with a four-set victory 24-26, 25-18, 25-16, 25-21.

“Cozad is not a bad team,” Costello said. “They’re much better than their 0-26 record shows.”

Although it was tight the whole way, the Swedes pushed ahead 24-21 in the first set before giving up five straight Haymaker points.

“Then we decided to take care of business the rest of the way,” Costello said of Gothenburg’s three straight sets.

Gothenburg finished the regular season with a triangular at Valentine on Friday, dropping games to both Ogallala and the Badgers.

In the first game, Costello said the Swedes seemed intimidated by Ogallala as the Indians won 25-11, 25-10.

“We were psyched out from the start,” she said.

In the second match against Valentine, Gothenburg started off strong but faltered down the stretch losing 24-26, 25-21, 25-14.

“We were tied at 18-18 in the second set and just couldn’t

Find the complete story in our print edition. Receive the entire issue of the Gothenburg Times on-line in PDF format each Wednesday for only $25 per year. Call 308-537-3636 to subscribe.