PRESHO - The Lyman volleyball team’s go-to for consistency is Anna Flitner.
“She’s our leader vocally and in the stats,” Raider head coach Jill Whalen said. “She always comes through big in crunch time and we depend on her.”
The senior outside hitter helped the Lyman Raiders to two District 13B tournament wins last week, including the championship match.
Flitner recorded 14 kills, 17 digs and six blocks for a double-double in No. 1 Lyman’s straight sets win over No. 5 Kadoka in semifinal game Nov. 5. With the victory, the Raiders advanced to the title match where they faced White River.
In the district championship, Flitner posted her second double-double of the week with 16 kills and 11 digs. Lyman (23-8) won 25-21, 25-14, 25-21.
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For her efforts, Flitner was named The Daily Republic’s athlete of the week, an award voted on by the newspaper’s sports staff.
She plays all the way around the court and is a smart offensive and defensive player, said Whalen.
This season, Flitner leads the team in several categories with 536 digs, 78 blocks, 62 aces and 441 kills for the Raiders. She has recorded more than 1,100 kills in the last three seasons.
“She’s strong in all areas and is a smart player,” Whalen said. “She takes the time to learn the game. She is emotional and gets the team fired up and is excited for teammates when they do good things.
“She’s definitely a team player.”
Lyman made the state tournament last year for the first time in 17 seasons and has every intention of returning this season. The Raiders will get the chance for their second straight tournament berth today.
The Raiders play Phillip in the Region 7B match at 6 p.m. MT today in Wall. With a win, Lyman advances to the Class B state volleyball tournament, which is Nov. 21-23 in Huron.
