Girls challenge Miles for area crown
Receiving a bye in the first round of the playoffs, the Lady Lion volleyball team will face off against the Miles Lady Bulldogs in the area round playoff Saturday at Brownwood High School.
Albany lost the area title to Miles last year in a close game, and are hoping to change those results in this year’s matchup.
The 2A bout is set for 5:00 p.m. at Gym 2, with Albany serving as the home team. Tiicket prices have been set at $4 for adults and $2 for students.
The winner of the area round will advance to the regional quarterfinal game against Hico, winner of the 2A bracket in District 8. At press time, coaches were still working on times and locations.
The Lady Lions, the second place 2A school in District 6, received a bye in the first round, as did Miles, the lone 2A school competing in District 7.
Albany ended district in a tie with Ranger for third overall, competing against both 2A and 1A schools, after ending the regular season with a win in four games over Ranger on Oct. 23.
Finishing the regular schedule 12-14, including a 7-5 mark in district, the Lady Lions battled to beat Ranger 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19.
“Ranger beat us in five sets in the first round, so it was so good to see our girls even things out this time,” coach Kimberly Hill said. “Although we dropped the second set, it was encouraging to watch us battle back after being down more than 10 points early in that set.”
The coach said that she saw players step up in the match to ensure the win.
“Taylor Scott consistently passed the ball out of serve receive, and Torie Fuentes served aggressively,” she said. “Ana Balliew emerged and got a few kills, while Alli Hill and Mady Connally led the way in kills.”
She added that Ansleigh Garcia played well on defense, and Hill was in the zone with blocking at the net.
“This was a well-rounded win that we really needed heading into the playoffs,” said the coach.
albany VS. ranger
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Passes Asst
B Belcher 12 0 7 0 1 0
C Holson 13 2 8 0 0 11
A Hill 10 18 26 5 16 0
T Fuentes 19 1 11 0 0 19
A Garcia 11 0 10 0 12 0
H Trail 0 3 9 1 0 0
A Balliew 0 3 1 0 6 0
A Denton 0 2 4 0 1 0
M Connally 0 6 7 1 3 0
T Scott 18 4 8 0 15 0
The Lady Lions also played a playoff “warm-up” game on Friday against Lingleville, dropping the match 21-25, 12-25, 20-25.
“The girls played well at times,” Hill said. “Our weakness continues to be a loss of focus and digging ourselves into a hole.”
The coach noted that Lingleville won District 8-2A with a 30-5 record.
“In all three sets we had the lead and allowed it to slip away,” the coach said. “We served well, only missing seven serves overall. That was a big improvement over our last four matches.”
She said that the game was a great opportunity for the team to work on the areas where they struggle and to see which rotations work best for them.
albany VS. lingleville
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Passes Asst
B Belcher 6 0 11 0 1 0
C Holson 6 1 3 0 0 3
A Hill 7 13 13 0 4 1
T Fuentes 11 1 10 0 0 22
A Garcia 5 0 19 0 12 0
S Cotter 0 0 4 1 3 0
H Trail 0 3 6 1 0 0
A Balliew 2 3 7 0 5 1
L Connally 0 0 4 0 6 0
M Connally 1 8 8 1 6 0
T Scott 11 4 18 0 8 1
