Albany advances to regional semifinals
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions overcame a slow start Saturday to advance in the Class 2A volleyball playoffs, defeating Colorado City 23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 in an area round match at Jim Ned High School.
The Lady Lions defeated Quanah in three sets on Tuesday for the regional quarterfinal title, earning a return trip to the Region I-2A tournament.Details of Tuesday’s match will be reported next week.
Albany will face Wink at 7:00 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12 in the regional semifinals at San Angelo Central’s Didrikson Gymnasium.
Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for students, with no passes accepted. The gym is located at 655 Caddo St.
The semifinalists will play the winner of a Plains-Miles match-up for the regional championship at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, also in San Angelo.
At stake will be a berth in the Class 2A state tournament, scheduled for Nov. 17-19 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
On Saturday, Albany (31-5) committed a string of unforced errors in dropping the first set and continued to struggle for consistency well into the second.
“We missed a couple of serves early and that stopped our momentum, but then we started swinging at the ball.” coach M.J. Reneau said. “I felt like once we started attacking, their defense couldn’t keep up with us.”
Tied at 18 in the first, Colorado City used a 6-1 run to reach game point. The Lady Lions ran off the next four points before the comeback stalled.
“They tipped a lot, and that messes up our defense when we don’t have a good pass, don’t have a good set, don’t have a good hit,” said Sarah Cotter, who led the Lady Lions with 22 kills and four blocks. “Once we got the passes going, the sets were on, and the hits were there, and we started winning. That’s what it took.”
Albany led 13-12 in the second set before putting things together and closing with a 12-2 run.
“We were talking during that set, and everyone worked together,” said Tristen Brown, who had 10 kills for the match.
Cotter opened the third set with kills for the first two points and Albany led the rest of the way. Reneau said the Lady Lions’ blocking and attacks helped them regain momentum every time Colorado City made a run.
“I kept telling them it’s not over yet,” she said. “You’ve got to get out there and earn your points. Don’t get comfortable because in the playoffs, every team is able to come back on us.”
The fourth set saw the teams swap early leads. Following an 8-8 tie, Albany was leading 11-9 when Cotter got two blocks and a kill to fuel a 7-0 run that put the Lady Lions on the cusp of clinching the match.
“When it’s tight, everyone’s nervous, and no one wants to swing at the ball,” Cotter said. “But when we have that big of a lead, everyone’s swinging away, and we’re winning because we’re playing our game.”
albany VS. COLORADO CITY
PLAYER Serves Aces Kills Digs Blks Asst
R. Lucas 26 4 - 9 - -
G. Price - - - 5 - -
A. Garcia 15 - 4 11 - -
S. Cotter 10 2 22 12 4 -
C. Holson 16 2 4 9 - 39
P. Green - - - 3 - -
A. Holson - - 2 1 1 1
T. Brown 12 5 10 8 - -
K. Roberson 8 2 5 3 - -
