Time to read
2 minutes
Read so far

Lady Lions advance to regional finals

0 comments

By Donnie A. Lucas

Coach M.J. Reneau has had one unspoken dream for her varsity volleyball team throughout this season – to guide her squad to the state volleyball tournament, an experience she had her senior year in 2008 as a Lady Lion.

Now that dream is just one step away from becoming realized.

The Lady Lions (22-4) defeated Plains in four sets Tuesday in Coahoma to win the Class 2A regional semifinal title and advance to the regional final game against Wink (22-4).

The two Region I teams will play at Big Spring High School Saturday at 4:00 p.m. to determine who advances to the state semifinal round.

Albany will be the visitors, and tickets have been set at $5 for adults and $3 for students. All tickets will be sold at the gate.

This is only the second time in program history that an Albany volleyball team has advanced to the final round of the regional tournament. The first was 2008 when Reneau was a student, and she and her teammates advanced to the state tournament before losing to Iola in four sets during the state semifinal round.

Technically, there are no actual tournaments at the regional and state level this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams must arrange individual games to reduce the risk of spreading the virus at multiple-team tournaments.

“We have been preparing for this game since the beginning of the season,” Reneau said. “Wink has skilled players with a long tradition of going far in the playoffs. Our goal for the season was to get to the regional finals, which we have accomplished.”

She added that the goal has now expanded to include qualifying for the state tournament.

“I scouted Wink last week, so we already know what they are like,” the coach said. “We think that our quick offense will hurt them, but they are experienced and aggressive on offense, while being very scrappy on defense.”

The winner of the game will advance to the state semifinal round next week to play the winner of the Crawford vs. Bremond game.

Albany Wrangles Cowgirls

The Lady Lions lost the opening set of the semi-final game against Plains 22-25, bouncing back to win the next three 25-10, 25-22, 25-16.

“We let the first set slip away from us due to unforced errors,” Reneau said. “Fortunately, we had practiced all week about how we would respond if this happened and the girls knew what they had to do.”

The coach noted that Sarah Beth Cotter and Alli Hill combined for 30 kills, while Clara Holson had 35 assists.

“All the girls played an outstanding game,’ she said. “Our hitting and serve receive were solid, which helped us win the last three sets.”

Reneau explained that the Lady Lions found holes to hit to in the Plains defense.

“Our hitters forced them to play out of their usual system, so they weren’t able to attack as much as they normally do,” the coach said.

The coach said that the team was thankful for the send-off they received.

“The support the girls got at the send-off and at the game from parents, fans, teachers, and students was tremendous,” she said. “We are really not ready for this to come to an end, so we have moved our goal another game.”

Albany advanced into the playoffs as the co-champions of District 6-2A, defeating Miles in five sets in the area round. The Lady Lions were supposed to play Coleman in the regional quarterfinal, but the Lady Bluecats had to forfeit due to the number of COVID-19 cases their school was experiencing.