Lady Lions prepare for start of district
The Lady Lion volleyball team won both games during pool play at the Dublin Tournament last week, earning a spot in the championship bracket only to face a pair of powerhouses on Saturday.
Albany hosted Clyde on Tuesday, falling in three games to the Class 3A Lady Bulldogs 15-25, 20-25, 18-25.
The local girls are sitting at 4-8 for the season.
The team will be open this weekend, traveling to Bangs on Tuesday, Sept. 4 for the final pre-district game on the schedule. The District 6-2A race starts on Saturday, Sept. 8 in Strawn with a varsity-only bout at 11:00 a.m.
The Lady Lions opened the action last week with a loss in Eastland on Tuesday, 12-25, 13-25, 7-25.
“This was definitely not our best effort,” coach Kimberly Hill said.
albany VS. EASTLAND
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Passes Asst
B Belcher 5 0 1 0 1 0
A Hill 0 6 10 0 9 0
T Fuentes 6 3 7 0 0 9
A Garcia 5 2 6 0 2 0
H Trail 0 0 1 0 2 0
A Balliew 7 0 7 0 4 0
M Connally 5 2 10 0 5 0
T Scott 3 1 10 0 13 0
Albany beat Ranger in the first pool game in the Dublin tourney last Thursday, winning 25-19, 25-6.
“We played much better and served the ball well,” Hill said. “It was a good cohesive win for our first pool game.”
The Lady Lions defeated Class 3A Clifton in three close games on Thursday, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23.
“We are still riding the roller coaster and dealing with ups and downs,” the coach said. “This was a good win for us, with the girls battling back to win the match after losing the second set.”
Things on Saturday in the championship bracket didn’t play out as well for Albany.
The Lady Lions lost to Class 4A Mineral Wells in the first game 14-25, 9-25.
“Having to go up against a 4A team in the first round was tough,” she said. “We didn’t play as strong as we should have in the first set, but we got better and the girls got to be part of some really good rallies, which showed them they could hang with teams from bigger schools.”
They faced district foe Hawley in the second game, losing 12-25, 10-25 to be eliminated.
“Hawley is always strong and I hope playing them was an eye opener,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
JV Results
The JV girls won both matches against Eastland last week and hosted Clyde this week.
The JV is scheduled to play in a Clyde Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 1 and will be on the road next Tuesday in Bangs for games starting at 4:30 p.m.
The JV White defeated Eastland on Aug. 21 by winning two out of three, 22-25, 25-13, 15-5. The Red team also won, 11-25, 27-25, 15-11.
“Both of these teams played Eastland in our local tournament and both lost to Eastland,” coach Lauren Peacock said. “We have definitely made progress. The girls are communicating better on the floor.”
The coach noted that setter Aimee Vazquez hurt her knee in practice, with Elizabeth Chavez stepping in to take her place.
“Elizabeth has done a fantastic job,” the coach said. “She has worked hard and I am proud of her effort and confidence.”
She commended Isabel Alvarez and Savannah Giessmann at the net.
Peacock also praised Kam Browning and Clara Holson for “stepping up and doing a great job at setter.”
Addie Beth Denton and Sarah Beth Cotter were noted for their work at the net.
The JV squads hosted Clyde on Tuesday, with the Red team winning in three games (20-25, 25-22, 25-21), and the White team in two (28-26, 25-18).
