Lady Lions continue successful season
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lion volleyball team picked up three more wins last week to extend its winning streak to 12-1, including a 1-0 district mark.
Albany hosted Class 4A Graham on Tuesday, falling to the Lady Blues in three sets, 14-25,11-25,16-25, to suffer just their second loss of the season. Details will be reported next week.
The Lady Lions will return to District 6-2A action on Saturday, hosting the Hawley Lady Bearcats beginning at noon. The JV II will start the action at 10:00 a.m., followed by the JV I team at 11:00 a.m.
Albany will play a varsity only bout on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in Rising Star at 5:30 p.m.
Varsity Details
The Lady Lions hosted Moran on Sept. 8, posting a 25-7, 25-9, 25-17 win.
“The win over Moran was a great way to start the week,” head volleyball coach M.J. Reneau said. “Everyone was able to contribute to the win and get playing time.”
The Lady Lions rolled out some new offensive strategies against the Lady Bulldogs.
“I was proud of the focus the girls showed and the way they executed without many errors,” Reneau said. “It makes it fun to throw in different plays during the season to keep them engaged.”
Albany earned a big win over 4A Snyder on Friday, 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19.
“We knew they would challenge us, so we came out early ready to compete,” Reneau said. “Our blockers did a great job of reading the hitters, making it easier for our back row to play defense.”
The coach said that this was the first match of the season that went to four sets.
“I am happy that our girls finished strong in the last set,” she said. “I think this game will help prepare us for the big games coming up.”
Individual statistics were not available for the Moran and Snyder games.
The Lady Lions traveled to Newcastle on Saturday, bringing back a 25-16, 25-20, 25-12 win.
“We made several adjustments during this game,” Reneau said. “We had players playing positions they don’t normally play due to a couple of injuries. Every single player upped their game, stayed focused and finished the game strong.”
albany VS. Newcastle
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 14 5 3 0 5
T Fuentes 16 0 16 0 0
A Garcia 1 0 2 0 0
S Cotter 5 15 4 1 0
C Holson 10 0 5 0 17
H Trail 1 1 3 0 1
C Nelson 3 0 1 0 1
B Belcher 19 0 8 0 0
A Denton 0 3 0 0 0
T Brown 3 4 5 0 0
M Farmer 2 0 1 0 0
C Edgar 0 1 2 0 0
The coach said that the team only missed three serves during the game.
JV Results
The JV girls traveled to Hawley on Sept. 8, with the JV I earning a win 25-17, 21-25, 25-10.
“The JV pulled out a big win against Hawley in a non-district match,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “They did a great job talking and getting some great passes so that our front row could get some kills.”
The coach commended Gracie Price for getting to the ball, giving Albany’s hitters a chance to swing hard.
The JV II lost in Hawley, 16-25, 25-20, 21-25.
“The girls lost a well-played game against Hawley,” the coach said. “After an injury, the girls did a great job of coming together and finishing strong. Sidney Russell did a fantastic job of stepping up in the setter position.”
The JV I lost to Snyder on Friday, 18-25, 20-25, putting their record at 8-2 for the season.
“The JV I played a tough match against a big blocking Snyder team,” Wilson said. “We just couldn’t get anything going. Even though we had some great serves, we couldn’t get our defense going.”
