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Lady Lions claim area title with 5-set win

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By Donnie A. Lucas

In a five-set game that saw several momentum swings, the Lady Lions defeated Miles in a Class 2A Region I area bout, breaking an eight-year drought of advancing past the second round of the volleyball playoffs.

The Lady Lions (20-4) were scheduled to face the Coleman Lady Bluecats today, but Coleman was forced to forfeit the game on Wednesday morning. According to Coleman school officials, a spike in COVID cases forced cancellation of extracurricular activities for two weeks.

Coleman (15-6) beat Ranger in four sets on Tuesday to advance to the regional quarterfinal before having to forfeit.

The Lady Lions defeated Coleman in three sets in the third game of the season back in August.

Albany will play the winner of the Sanford-Fritch/Plains regional quarterfinal game, which is set for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

The regional semifinal game is expected to be played in the Lubbock area on Tuesday, Nov. 10, but details were not available at press time.

The Lady Lions picked up a 25-10 win in the first set against Miles in Tuscola on Monday, but then dropped the second set to Miles by the same score, 25-10.

Albany bounced back and won the third set 25-10, only to fall 25-17 in game four.

The win came in the fifth set, 15-3, giving Albany its first win against Miles at the area round in the last five years.

“The girls had to dig deep to win this game,” head volleyball coach M.J. Reneau said. “The momentum shifted every set, with us able to grab it for the last set and the win.”

The coach credited “amazing saves and serves” with keeping the momentum in the final set.

“I am glad we got the experience of a five-game match in the playoffs and were able to pull off the win,” she said. “We know that every win in the playoffs has to be earned.”

The coach credited the team for never giving up against Miles.

“They never stopped working hard, which is what I am the most proud of,” Reneau said. “The bench was supportive and engaged, helping keep the game exciting.”

albany VS. Miles

PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst

A Hill 3 17 8 1 0

T Fuentes 22 0 15 0 0

A Garcia 2 1 0 0 0

S Cotter 30 15 2 3 0

C Holson 18 8 4 0 29

H Trail 0 0 3 0 0

C Nelson 0 0 4 0 0

B Belcher 12 0 17 0 0

A Denton 0 1 4 0 0

T Brown 4 4 3 0 1

The Lady Lions played a pair of warm-up or practice games last week in preparation for the playoffs, splitting games with the visitors.

Albany lost to Tolar 25-23, 22-25, 25-14, 22-25, 5-15 on Oct. 28.

“It was a battle the entire five sets,” the coach said. “This was a perfect warm up game for us because they challenged us, and we learned that we have to finish. We made too many errors in sets four and five.”

albany VS. tolar

PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst

A Hill 28 12 19 1 0

T Fuentes 17 1 12 0 0

A garcia 3 0 0 0 0

S Cotter 4 22 2 3 0

C Holson 15 1 15 0 41

H Trail 0 3 6 0 0

C Nelson 8 0 9 0 0

B Belcher 21 0 12 0 0

A Denton 0 8 7 0 0

T Brown 4 2 3 0 0

Albany also hosted Benjamin on Oct. 30, winning in three sets 25-14, 26-24, 25-17.

“We lost to Benjamin in the first scrimmage of the season, which is why we wanted to play them again,” Reneau said. “They are tall and strong at the net, letting us practice blocking against a good team.”

albany VS. benjamin

PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst

A Hill 8 8 9 1 2

T Fuentes 21 0 16 0 0

A Garcia 0 1 3 0 0

S Cotter 6 20 3 1 0

C Holson 8 5 11 0 34

H Trail 0 0 0 1 0

C Nelson 2 0 3 0 0

B Belcher 21 0 9 0 0

A Denton 0 8 2 0 0

T Brown 8 4 7 0 0

M Farmer 0 0 1 0 0