Albany to host Summer Slam tourney
By Donnie A. Lucas
Between team camp, the start of two-a-day practices and a set of scrimmages on Saturday, the Lady Lion volleyball players were more than busy last week.
The action continued on Tuesday with the season opener at Jim Ned on Tuesday. The varsity suffered a 29-31, 19-25, 19-25 loss to the 3A Lady Indians. The JVI lost 22-25, 10-25, while the JVII fell 25-15, 20-25, 11-15. Details of the games will be reported next week.
Albany is hosting the annual Summer Slam Tournament starting Thursday (today) and continuing through Saturday at the high school.
A total of 12 varsity teams will start pool play on Thursday, returning on Saturday for bracket games in two divisions. The Gold Bracket will match up the top eight teams, while the Silver Bracket will include the remaining four teams.
Bracket games for the 12 JV and six freshmen teams will be played on Friday.
Games will start at 8:00 a.m. each day, with varsity pool games set for 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
The JVI will take the court on Friday for three games at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., while the JVII will play at 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Daily ticket prices will be $3 for adults and $2 for students. The volleyball program is also hosting the concession stand all three days. The public is invited to attend.
The three local teams will host Jim Ned on Tuesday, Aug. 13 starting at 2:00 p.m., according to the schedule.
Scrimmage Results
All three teams played in scrimmages against Breckenridge and Mineral Wells, hosted by the Lady Bucks in Breckenridge on Saturday.
“I thought the girls did a great job with only two days of practice,” head volleyball coach M.J. Reneau said. “The girls had great attitudes and never gave up during any of the games. It was good to see how the girls responded to the level of competition from 3A and 4A schools.”
The coach said that only a running score based on time limits was kept, but that Albany reached 25 points first in both games against Breckenridge.
“Considering there were no referees, I thought the girls did a great job responding,” she said. “We didn’t do as well against Mineral Wells, but they have a really strong offense, and our girls are still adjusting to a new defense. Those games were great experience for our blockers because Mineral Wells had strong middles.”
The coach said that the team served the ball well and did a good job passing.
“Our setters and hitters did a good job connecting,” she said. “It is a great sign for the rest of the season that they are already connecting with each other so early in the season.”
The coach said that the JVI team won both of its scrimmages on Saturday, while the JVII lost both.
“We have been working on speeding up our offense this week and learning to make more quick sets,” she said.
The varsity has the full squad of 10 returning from last season since there were no seniors who graduated. There are 13 girls on each of the sub-varsity teams.
“The JVI team is still trying to mesh as a group, but they looked good, especially on defense,” Reneau said. “The JVII players were getting their rotations down by the end of the scrimmage, which is positive for them.”
The coach for the two JV teams is Jamie Wilson, who is also new to the district.
