Girls open with 3 wins, lose to 3A Jim Ned
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lion volleyball team opened its regular season last week with a string of three wins as they prepare for a long district run that begins next Tuesday.
Albany hosted Jim Ned on Tuesday, suffering their first loss in a hard-fought 18-25, 30-32, 14-25 match. Details will be reported next week.
The Lady Lions are on the road Saturday to Eastland for a full set of games slated to start at 10:00 a.m. with the JV II, followed by the JV at 11:00 a.m., and the varsity at 12:00 noon.
The District 6-2A race will start next Tuesday in Ranger with three games beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Albany hosted Breckenridge on Aug. 11 to open the regular season, winning in three games over the Lady Bucks 25-23, 25-23, 25-17.
“Our first game of the season will be one to remember,” head coach M.J. Reneau said. “We had slow starts in each set, but we were able to fight our way back and win in three.”
The coach credited middle players at the net on offense for combining for 22 kills.
“I love the focus I saw in every athlete during the game whether they were on the court or supporting from the bench,” she said.
albany VS. Breckenridge
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 9 9 4 0 0
T Fuentes 13 0 7 0 0
A Garcia 0 2 0 0 0
S Cotter 2 13 2 3 0
C Holson 10 2 0 0 25
C Nelson 13 0 0 0 0
B Belcher 14 0 5 0 0
A Denton 0 2 1 0 0
T Brown 3 5 1 0 0
The Lady Lions were on the road last Friday in Bangs, picking up a 25-21, 25-14, 25-17 victory.
“Each set against Bangs was close at first, but then our girls finished strong,” the coach said. “Our serve receive and defense looked really good, allowing us to set up a lot of plays. The chemistry of the court looked good during this game, which we are excited to see so early in the season.”
albany VS. bangs
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 11 11 5 1 0
T Fuentes 17 0 13 0 1
A Garcia 3 1 2 0 0
S Cotter 7 7 2 0 0
C Holson 16 3 4 0 26
H Trail 0 0 1 0 0
C Nelson 1 0 6 0 0
B Belcher 8 0 8 0 0
A Denton 0 1 1 0 0
T Brown 10 9 4 0 0
The Lady Lions played at home again on Saturday, defeating Coleman in three sets 25-5, 25-14, 25-10.
“The girls played really well against Coleman, with only nine errors for the entire game,” Reneau said. “Limiting our errors allowed us to gain momentum and keep it during each set.”
The coach commended setter Clara Holson for running a quick offense and spreading the ball around to all hitters to keep Coleman guessing.
“The girls never let up and were determined to stay on top during each set,” she said.
albany VS. coleman
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 4 9 3 1 1
T Fuentes 12 0 5 0 0
A Garcia 4 2 0 0 0
S Cotter 14 12 1 2 0
C Holson 10 3 1 0 20
C Nelson 9 0 1 0 0
B Belcher 18 0 5 0 0
A Denton 0 0 2 0 0
T Brown 2 1 1 0 0
M Farmer 0 0 1 0 0
JV Results
The JV I and JV II teams were also successful, winning five out of six games to start the season.
The JV won all three of their bouts last week, defeating Breckenridge 15-25, 25-17, 25-23.
“The girls did a great job of fighting back to win the match in three sets,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “They showed a great deal of focus and drive.”
The JV I also won at Bangs, 25-13, 18-25, 25-19.
“It was another tough win against Bangs,” the coach said. “We had a lot of kills, and the girls did a fantastic job serving the ball.”
The JV hosted Bangs on Saturday, winning in two sets, 25-16, 25-15.
“The girls finally got the win in two sets,” Wilson said. “They did a great job of keeping their energy up in a quiet game, with a lot of great serves that resulted in a number of aces.”
The JV II team lost in two to Breckeridge last week, 18-25, 10-25.
“We came out a little shaky in our first game but did a great job of staying focused,” Wilson said. “Breckenridge had tough serves, but we saw a lot of good things for their first game.”
The JV II bounced back with a 25-20, 25-20 in Bangs.
“We had a good number of aces on our serves and saw some great attacks at the net,” she said.
The JV II also defeated Coleman last Saturday at home, 25-9, 25-7.
“The girls came out strong in this match to play a great game,” the coach said. “You can see they are getting better every match by how well their serve receive, passes and kills have become.”
