Albany to challenge Miles for area crown
By Donnie A. Lucas
The varsity Lady Lions volleyball team ended the regular season last Saturday with a win over Rising Star, and the girls are now preparing for the Class 2A playoffs.
Albany will play a rematch against Miles in the area playoff round on Monday, Nov. 2 at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
Priced at $4, tickets will become available for parents Thursday and for the public on Friday, with just 164 available on the visitors side. They are being sold on the Jim Ned CISD website: jimned.esc14.net. Access the “tickets” tab in the top menu bar to be directed to the online ticket sales for the game.
Tickets will not be available at the game.
Miles (7-12) defeated Colorado City on Monday in a tie-breaker game that went to five sets to decide seeding among the only two 2A teams in District 7-2A.
The Lady Lions played Miles in the area round last year, losing in four sets.
“We have a very good chance of advancing this year if we show up and play like we are capable of playing,” head volleyball coach M.J. Reneau said. “We need to limit our errors, and we have been practicing against the defense that Miles uses.”
Reneau also noted that Miles lost eight or nine seniors off of last year’s squad and are fielding a younger team this season.
The winner of the area game will advance to the regional quarterfinal at the end of next week to face the winner of the Ranger/Coleman area playoff.
Albany finished District 6-2A as co-champions along with Hawley, with a 17-3 overall record that includes a 3-1 district finish.
Using a mathematical tie-breaking method based on the outcome of one of the World Series games last week, the Lady Lions are advancing as the No. 2 seed, while Hawley will take the No. 1 spot.
Both Albany and Hawley received a bye in the first round of the playoffs, joining the march towards the regional and state tournaments at the area level.
A practice game originally set for Tuesday against Tolar was moved to Wednesday due to weather. Results were not available at press time.
The Lady Lions will also host Benjamin in a practice game on Friday, Oct. 30 at 4:00 p.m. in the main gym.
“I’ve scheduled two very competitive practice games to get ready for the playoffs,” Reneau said. “They are both Class 1A schools that have very strong teams.”
Albany played the closest match of the season on Oct. 20 in Hawley, falling in five sets to the Lady Bearcats. The loss tied the two squads at 3-1 in district because the Lady Lions defeated Hawley in the first round of district.
albany VS.HAwley
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 8 12 13 1 0
T Fuentes 19 0 20 2 2
A Garcia 1 0 3 0 0
S Cotter 20 9 5 1 0
C Holson 19 4 14 0 30
H Trail 0 1 0 2 0
C Nelson 7 0 8 0 0
B Belcher 18 0 8 0 0
A Denton 0 7 4 0 0
T Brown 14 10 3 1 0
“The girls played their hearts out during the Hawley game,” Reneau said. “This was the first five-set match we have had all season, and I thought the girls looked like they were in great shape.
Hawley edged out Albany 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15 in the second round.
“We fought until the end, but a few things didn’t go our way,” the coach said. “I think this is great preparation for the playoffs.”
Albany finished up the regular season schedule on Saturday with a 25-7, 25-4, 25-3 win over Rising Star.
“We loved ending our regular season with a win on our home court,” the coach said. “The girls played well, including serving really great.”
albany VS. Rising Star
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 2 7 1 0 0
T Fuentes 5 0 2 0 1
A Garcia 2 3 0 0 0
S Cotter 13 9 1 1 1
C Holson 2 2 0 0 19
C Nelson 8 0 1 0 0
B Belcher 19 0 3 0 0
A Denton 0 1 0 0 0
T Brown 6 3 1 0 0
M Farmer 16 0 1 0 0
C Edgar 0 3 1 0 0
JV Results
The two JV teams ended their season at Hawley last week with split results.
The JV I defeated Hawley’s JV 15-25, 25-17, 25-22, ending the season with a 12-2 record including 5-0 in district.
“The girls fought really hard for this win,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “We had a couple of injuries that shifted some of the girls into new positions, but they stepped up to the challenge.”
The coach credited Robin Lucas and Pepper Martin with important digs from the back row, along with Ashlyn Holson as the setter.
Ella Webb was also credited with giving the team a number of points on serve.
“Overall, it was a fantastic year, and I am very proud of the improvement I saw this year,” Wilson said.
The JV II team lost in Hawley 21-25, 22-25, to finish the year with a 4-8 record including 1-2 in district.
“They did a great job adjusting throughout the match,” the coach said. “Brooklyn Abbate had some great saves from the back row, and Robyn Trail made some good plays at the net. I am so proud of how much the girls improved this year.”
