Lady Lions undefeated in district play
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions took a big step toward a district championship Saturday by sweeping Hawley on the road in a key District 6-2A match.
The local girls hosted Rising Star on Tuesday, winning in three sets, 25-8, 25-4, 25-4. Details of the game will be published next week.
Albany will be in Rising Star on Saturday, Sept. 25, with an 11:00 a.m. varsity game time. There will be three games in Ranger on Tuesday, Sept. 28, starting at 4:30 p.m.
“This was the first time in about eight years that Albany has beaten Hawley at Hawley,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said. “The girls were so excited and focused for the game. They stuck to the game plan and played so well.”
The victory completed another undefeated week for the Lady Lions (20-3 overall, 2-0 district). Albany opened the week on Sept. 14 by sweeping Class 4A Snyder at home.
The victories helped the Lady Lions move up a spot to No. 10 in this week’s Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 2A rankings.
The Lady Lions were scheduled to host Rising Star on Tuesday. Details of that match will be reported next week. Albany will host Strawn, which has been receiving votes in the TGCA rankings, at 11:00 a.m. Saturday to close out the first round of the district schedule.
Against Snyder, Albany won 25-8, 25-13, 25-14. The Lady Lions enjoyed a solid serving performance with 11 aces in the match.
albany VS. SNYDER
PLAYER Serves Aces Kills Digs Blks Asst
R. Lucas 21 1 - 4 - -
G. Price - - - 1 - -
A. Garcia 14 4 2 7 - 1
S. Cotter 9 3 17 6 - -
C. Holson 14 1 3 6 - 27
P. Green - - - 1 - -
A. Holson - - 1 1 - -
T. Brown 6 2 5 8 - -
K. Roberson 3 - 6 4 - -
On Saturday, The Lady Lions defeated Hawley 25-19, 25-13, 25-8, again serving up 11 aces.
“That was our second district game to go just three sets,” Reneau said. “We knew that Hawley would give us a good run because they are a good team.”
Reneau said Albany’s attack made the difference.
“We were so aggressive on offense that it made it tough for them to set up theirs,” she said. “I’m very proud of our girls and am looking forward to the rest of district play.”
albany VS. HAWLEY
PLAYER Serves Aces Kills Digs Blks Asst
R. Lucas 16 3 - 8 - -
G. Price - - 1 3 - -
A. Garcia 13 2 1 7 - -
S. Cotter 11 3 14 3 - -
C. Holson 7 1 5 6 - 21
L. Chavez - - 2 2 - -
S. Cormack 1 - - - - 1
A. Holson - - 1 - - 1
T. Brown 6 1 5 5 - -
K. Roberson 9 1 3 3 - -
Junior Varsity
Albany’s JV teams faced stiff competition last week,dropping three of four matches.
The JV1 team started with a 20-25, 23-25 loss to Snyder on Sept. 14.
“We came up short, but the girls worked hard,” Coach Jamie Wilson said. “Brooklyn Abbate and Callan Edgar had great serving games.”
The JV2 lost to Snyder 16-25, 13-25.
“There were some good plays throughout the game,” Wilson said. “Emily Schedule had great hits at the net.”
On Saturday, the JV1 rallied to defeat Hawley 21-25, 25-12, 25-12.
“After getting down the first set, the girls battled back and beat a tough team,” Wilson said. “They served tough, and they talked well on the court.”
Albany’s JV2 also forced a third set before losing 19-25, 25-20, 17-25.
“The girls fought hard to force a third set,” Wilson said. “It was a close match and we were missing three players, but the girls did a fantastic job adjusting to the positions that had to be changed.”
The JV1 will host Strawn at 10:00 a.m. Saturday.
Both JV teams are scheduled to play Tuesday at Ranger.
Junior High
After more than a week without playing, the Albany Junior High Lady Cubs returned to action on Tuesday afternoon.
The eighth grade team played Rising Star in one game, but details were not available at press time.
On Saturday, both seventh and eighth grade teams are scheduled to play in the Hawley tournament. For the seventh grade, the tournament will be the first competition since Sept. 13.
