Lady Lions jump into district after successful early schedule
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions began the District 6-2A volleyball schedule on a winning note Saturday, Sept. 23 to extend their winning streak to five matches.
The Lady Lions (25-4 overall, 1-0 district) had the district bye on Tuesday, Sept. 26 and will resume play Saturday, Sept. 30 at Coleman.
“I feel like with this group, more than ever, we practice things and then use it during our games,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said. “We carry over so much from our practices into our games. I feel like we’re really deep this year and playing very well.”
Albany closed out its nondistrict schedule Tuesday, Sept. 19 by sweeping Strawn 25-10, 25-10, 30-28.
On Saturday, the Lady Lions swept Bangs 25-21, 25-17, 25-9 for their 21st win in their last 22 matches. Albany rallied from a 9-16 deficit in the first set with a 15-1 run before Bangs fought off four set points.
“I have so much confidence in the girls who are on the court,” Reneau said. “I’m really proud of how – if we ever did get in a lull or lost the momentum – we snapped out of it. We just stayed calm and did what it took to grab the momentum back.”
Caroline Holson knocked down 16 kills with Kiana Roberson adding 14 kills and a block. Callan Edgar had six kills, and Abi Hale had five along with 45 assists. Robin Lucas led Albany with nine digs as every player had at least one.
Reneau said a key to the match was Albany being able to keep the ball in play, extending several rallies until being able to set the attack.
“If Bangs sent up a ball that was out-of-system, we were able to work with that ball and make it to where we could get the ball back over the net,” she said. “We won some long rallies, which was good for us to do.”
Against Strawn, Roberson had 18 kills with Holson adding 12. Hale had 39 assists, and Lucas had 35 digs.
“I feel like we relaxed a little bit too much in that third set,” Reneau said. “I think that was a really good lesson for us to learn – it just showed that we can’t let up. We have to keep pushing every minute, every play of every set.”
Junior Varsity
The Lady Lions JV defeated Bangs 25-13, 25-20 after sweeping Woodson 25-8, 25-18 on Monday, Sept. 18. There was no JV match against Strawn.
“The girls played a great game on Saturday,” JV coach Makinzie Tomascik said. “I was really proud of the energy and the teamwork they showed during the game.”
The JV swept its district opener despite freshman middle blocker Zayne Lefevre being promoted to varsity. Lefevre had a kill and a dig in her varsity debut.
“The girls have always had a great energy about them, and Zayne was a big part of that,” Tomascik said. “With her moving up, I had no doubt that the team would continue to have the same energy without her as they did with her.”
Part of that was due to players having to play multiple positions early in the season because of teammates missing time with injuries. Madi Parrot stepped in at middle blocker on Saturday.
“This team is full of leaders, great teammates, and lots of talent,” Tomascik said. “I am very proud of how far we have come this season so far and how much we have learned throughout the season. This was a great start for district and I’m excited to see how the rest goes.”
ALBANY VS. STRAWN
PLAYER Serves Aces Kills Digs Blks Asst
R.Lucas 12 3 0 35 0 0
E.Schedule 1 0 2 0 0 0
C.Edgar 0 0 4 2 0 1
M.Ivy 2 0 1 4 0 0
A.Hale 10 2 0 13 1 39
C.Chapman 13 3 3 2 0 0
By.Abbate 0 0 3 0 0 1
C.Holson 15 4 12 2 0 0
K.Roberson 5 0 18 12 3 0
Bk.Abbate 2 2 0 8 0 0
ALBANY VS. BANGS
PLAYER Serves Aces Kills Digs Blks Asst
R.Lucas 12 0 0 9 0 0
E.Schedule 3 0 0 4 0 0
C.Edgar 0 0 6 1 1 1
M.Ivy 0 0 1 2 0 0
A.Hale 13 1 5 7 0 45
C.Chapman 2 0 1 4 0 0
By.Abbate 0 0 2 2 0 0
Z.Lefevre 0 0 1 1 0 0
C.Holson 23 2 16 4 0 0
K.Roberson 14 3 14 8 1 0
Bk.Abbate 4 0 0 5 0 0
