Lady Lions season ends at state semifinal
By Donnie A. Lucas
All good things come to an end, and so it was for the Lady Lions’ volleyball season on Tuesday, just one step short of the state championship game.
Albany lost to defending state champion Crawford in straight sets Tuesday, 25-14,25-11,25-14 in the Class 2A state semifinal game played in Weatherford.
The Lady Lions qualified for the state tournament as one of the final four teams for only the second time in program history with a three-set win over Wink last Saturday in Big Spring.
The only other time Albany competed at state was during the 2008 season when coach M.J. Reneau was an Albany senior. That year, the local girls fell to Iola in four sets in the semifinals.
The Lady Lions ended this season with a 23-5 overall record, including 3-1 in district, to advance as co-champions for District 6-2A along with Hawley.
“We knew Crawford would be tough to beat,” Reneau said. “They have qualified for the state tournament the last four years and won the championship twice. They had a lot of confidence and size. They were just solid all the way around.”
The Lady Pirates move on to the final game against Iola.
“Our girls played a great game, and it was a wonderful season,” the coach said. “They shouldn’t have any regrets. I was so proud of how well they played and how they held it together after the loss. They are a real class act.”
The coach also thanked the community for support that was shown the team this season, especially during the playoffs.
Albany won three straight sets against Wink last Saturday to qualify for the semifinal game. Both the regional and state tournaments were conducted as separate games in separate locations to reduce the possible spread of the coronavirus.
The Lady Lions racked up sets of 25-14, 25-19, 25-20 for the win over Wink.
“We came out strong and stuck with our game plan of attacking at every opportunity to keep Wink out of system,” Reneau said. “The girls showed a lot of class and confidence during what was definitely one of their best games of the season.”
The coach said Albany got the advantage with big blocks early in the first set.
“We knew that it could have been a much bigger battle with Wink,” she said. “We got some blocks that made them hesitant at the net.”
The coach also reported that Wink took Albany’s setter out of the usual offense by hitting the ball to her first.
“They hit the ball to her first so it would take her out as setter, but I am really proud of how our other girls stepped up to set the ball and make our attack work,” Reneau said. “ Everyone contributed to this win.”
The coach said that she was excited for the girls to experience the semifinal round.
“I remember how exciting it was going that far when I was a senior, and I saw they had the same look on their faces as we had,” the coach said. “I just hoped that they could go one game further than we did.”
albany VS wink
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
A Hill 14 8 15 0 1
T Fuentes 10 0 21 0 0
A Garcia 0 0 2 0 0
S Cotter 6 16 4 2 0
C Holson 9 2 10 0 31
H Trail 9 0 0 0 0
B Belcher 20 0 7 0 0
A Denton 0 1 7 0 2
T Brown 11 2 3 0 0
