Varsity records 4-set victory over Bangs
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lion volleyball teams traveled to Clyde last week, with all three squads recording losses to the 3A Lady Bulldogs.
Albany hosted Bangs on Tuesday with better results.
The varsity posted a 25-11, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22 win to improve to 9-8 for the season. Complete results will be reported next week.
The Lady Lions will also host Dublin on Friday, with the varsity starting the action at 4:00 p.m. The JV game will be played immediately following at about 5:00 p.m.
All three local teams are off next Tuesday. The varsity will then open district play at home on Saturday, Sept. 14 against Strawn at 11:00 a.m.
The varsity lost in three sets on Aug. 27 in Clyde, 14-25, 8-25, 20-25.
“Clyde is the best team we have faced all season,” coach M.J. Reneau said. “They made very few errors and were big at the net. The girls were challenged in this game but never gave up.”
The coach said that the Lady Lions played well despite the loss.
“I was proud of the girls for fighting for every point and making very few errors,” the coach said. “Our serving and blocking were our two strongest points during the game.”
The coach said she is hoping to have the Lady Lions back at full strength for Friday’s game against Dublin and for the opening of the district race next week.
“We have had some injuries and sickness to overcome,” Reneau said. “Hopefully, we will be back at full strength soon.”
She added that the Lady Lions have improved with each game.
“We aren’t making as many errors, and our setters and hitters are connecting well,” she said. “We have been able to start playing different offensive plays in each set to mix up the blockers on the other side.”
albany VS. Clyde
PLAYER Serves Kills Digs Blks Asst
T Fuentes 3 1 12 0 0
B Belcher 6 0 5 0 0
A Hill 0 0 1 0 0
A Garcia 0 0 6 0 0
S Cotter 4 3 3 3 0
C Holson 12 1 6 0 5
H Trail 9 0 2 1 1
A Denton 0 3 1 1 0
M Connally 0 0 1 0 0
T Scott 7 0 7 1 0
JV Results
The JV played Bangs on Tuesday, with the JV Red losing 16-25, 25-13, 14-16. The JV White won 25-13, 25-18.
Only one JV game will be played against Dublin on Friday, and both JV squads will be off next week.
The Red JV also lost to Clyde last Tuesday, 21-25, 11-25.
“That wasn’t our best game, but it helped us as a team,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “We were better prepared for the tournament.”
The team returned to Clyde on Saturday for tournament games, winning one out of three.
The Red team defeated Sweetwater in the first round 25-13, 25-21.
“That was a great game to come back with,” Wilson said. “It got us into the winners bracket.”
The JV I was narrowly defeated by Jim Ned in the second round, 21-25, 23-25.
“We are still working on our team togetherness,” Wilson said. “The girls fought in this one, but they just couldn’t pull it out.”
The Red team lost in the final round to Clyde 21-25, 16-25.
“I thought our attitudes towards each other hurt us,” she said. “We play so much better when we are working together.”
The JV White also played in Clyde last Tuesday, falling in three games 12-25, 25-18, 17-25.
“We saw some great fight in this game,” Wilson said. “The girls came back off of a hard first set and tried their best.”
The White team also played in the Clyde tournament on Saturday, winning one out of three rounds.
Albany lost 22-25, 23-25 to Clyde in the first round.
“The girls had a chance to avenge the Tuesday night loss to Clyde, but we couldn’t quite pull it out,” Wilson said.
Albany’s JV White won the second match over Coleman 25-13, 25-8.
The coach congratulated the teams for a great win.
The JV II was narrowly defeated in the third round by Sweetwater 25-20, 21-25, 27-29.
“This was the best match of the tournament to watch,” Wilson said. “It was a great fight for both teams. Even though we didn’t pull it out, it was fun to see the girls play together and with passion.”
