Lady Lions win 2nd straight tourney
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team closed out tournament play last week by winning the Aspermont tourney for their second title of the season, going 7-0 for the second week in a row.
The Lady Lions (17-3) carried a 14-match win streak into their Tuesday, Aug. 29 match against Abilene Christian. Albany won a hard-fought four-set match 25-27, 25-15, 26-24, 25-17. Details will be reported next week.
“I’m really proud of this group,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said. “They’re all so versatile I can put them at any position, and they excel at that position. I feel like we got the reps that we needed and games that we needed.”
Albany will visit Woodson Saturday, Sept. 2. The JV match will start at 10:00 a.m. followed by the varsity.
Albany began last week’s play on Tuesday, Aug. 22 with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-9 victory at Bryson.
On Thursday, Aug. 24, the Lady Lions won three pool matches at the Aspermont tournament, beating Post 25-3, 25-10, Aspermont 25-21, 25-21, and Paducah 25-5, 25-6.
“We were missing Robin Lucas on Thursday, but made adjustments, and the girls played great,” Reneau said. “Mimi Ivy and Brooklyn Abbate took turns at libero, and both did a great job.”
In bracket play on Saturday, Aug. 26, Albany defeated Ropesville Ropes 25-8, 25-7 in the quarterfinals, Rotan 25-4, 25-15 in the semifinals, and Colorado City 25-14, 25-20 for the championship.
Abi Hale, Caroline Holson, and Kiana Roberson were named to the all-tournament team.
Tuesday’s match started the next stretch of the schedule with Albany playing its final seven nondistrict matches. The Lady Lions open District 6-2A play Saturday, Sept. 23 at home against Bangs.
“I’m very happy with where we are.” Reneau said. “The first tournament, you’re just trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t.”
The progress made over the following two weeks was noticeable, the coach said.
“By the third tournament, I felt were confident stepping out on the floor,” she said. “Our hitters and setters are really connecting, and our defense looks really good.”
The next three weeks will be spent polishing the different aspects of the game in preparation for district.
“Now we’re settling into our routine, starting to watch more film and focus more on our plays,” Reneau said. “We’re implementing a new defense just to have a backup option, but really we’re just fine-tuning what we’ve already started.”
