Girls struggle with changing rotations
The Lady Lion volleyball squad is off to a slow start in district after suffering a pair of losses last week to drop to 1-2 in league action.
The teams were off earlier this week with a bye, but the varsity will host Moran on Saturday, Sept. 22 in a 10:00 a.m. game.
Albany will be on the road Tuesday, Sept. 25 with a set of games in Woodson. A junior high game will start the action at 4:00 p.m., followed by one JV game at 5:00 p.m. The varsity will take the floor at 6:15 p.m.
Close Loss to Newcastle
The Lady Lions hosted the Newcastle Lady Bobcats on Sept. 11, losing a close bout 15-25, 26-28, 22-25.
“When two closely matched teams take the court, the difference will be which team can execute the small things the best,” coach Kimberly Hill said. “The second set was very tight, and I think that the seven missed serves decided that one. Had we won it, the momentum would have carried over to the third set.”
The coach reported that two players were still on the injury list for that game.
albany VS. newcastle
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Passes Asst
B Belcher 2 0 1 0 0 0
C Holson 7 2 5 0 3 8
A Hill 6 5 18 2 9 0
A Garcia 8 1 16 0 4 1
H Trail 0 6 5 0 0 0
A Balliew 3 0 4 0 2 0
M Connally 9 4 16 0 6 0
T Scott 20 4 8 0 5 0
S Cotter 0 1 1 0 0 0
Albany traveled to Hawley on Saturday to take on the district-leading Lady Bearcats, dropping the contest 15-25, 9-25, 13-25.
“Hawley is always a tough battle and when you only average four points for each set from your serving, it is hard to win,” Hill said. “We didn’t pass well off of Hawley’s serves either. Out of 70 attempts, we had 44 passing errors.”
The coach said that the Lady Lions have had to work with changing rotations since Labor Day due to injuries.
“That has hurt our consistency,” she said. “We are a better team than we have shown.”
The coach complimented junior Taylor Scott for stepping in as setter the last four games.
“I’m looking forward to when everyone is healthy again and we can get back to our regular line-up,” said Hill.
She commended the team for working hard to overcome adversities.
“The girls have remained flexible and continue to work hard,” she said.
The team is 6-10 for the season and 1-2 in district.
Albany VS. hawley
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Passes Asst
B Belcher 4 0 4 0 4 0
A Hill 5 5 8 1 6 0
T Fuentes 5 0 11 0 0 4
A Garcia 3 0 7 0 1 0
H Trail 0 1 2 1 0 0
A Balliew 1 0 3 0 1 0
A Denton 0 2 1 0 0 0
M Connally 9 3 5 0 2 0
T Scott 4 2 7 0 2 6
JV Results Mixed
The Red JV fell to Newcastle 10-25, 24-26.
“We were rattled in the first set because they got us out of our game and we couldn’t adjust,” coach Lauren Peacock said. “They were probably one of the best JV teams we have faced this season, but the second set was more like our usual level of play.”
The coach said she is looking forward to a rematch in the second half of district.
The younger JV traveled to Abilene on the same night to play Abilene Christian School, bringing home a 25-11, 25-18 win.
“We had a total of nine aces against them,” coach Ginger Norton said. “The girls have really improved their serving since tournament play.”
Scoring on serves were Savannah Giessmann, 7; Tristen Brown, 7; Lizzie Chavez, 5; Pepper Martin, 5; Savannah Hobbs, 4.
The JV teams also split games in Hawley on Saturday.
The JV Red lost 21-25, 18-25.
“We struggled with serve-receive,” Peacock said. “The girls got down and couldn’t get out of it. In both sets we dug big holes, making it really tough to try to play from behind.”
JV White won their bout, 14-25, 25-20, 25-23.
“The first set was a struggle because we were nervous and played timid,” Peacock said. “But we got that out of our system and battled back.”
She added that Chavez continues to impress her on the court and that Susie Cormack was aggressive at the net.
