Scoop27
11-13-2013, 10:20 AM
By JOEL LUNA joel.luna@thefacts.com | 0 comments
BAYTOWN — Five points away from the Class 3A Region III volleyball semifinals, the Sweeny Lady Bulldogs could not hold on.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped a five-game quarterfinal match to Huffman-Hargrave, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 27-25, 12-15, Tuesday night at Lee College, thus giving the Lady Falcons their first trip to the tournament.
In a raucous atmosphere where just about every point was played out, Sweeny held a 10-4 lead in the fifth and final game. But Hargrave (26-7) crawled back into the match after outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 7-1 to knot it up 11-11.
Junior Heaven Fields gave Sweeny the lead back after bouncing one off the defense, but it would be the final point the Lady Bulldogs would score.
“When anxiety is high and the momentum is going back and forth, when we had the lead we couldn’t serve receive and it is because we just got so nervous,” Sweeny coach Loure Dews said. “It was reality to our players that we might not have this as closed out as we thought we did.”
In those final three points for the Lady Falcons, it was Laramie Wilkins coming up with a couple of big shots then Kayden Thomas getting the final hit to the back corner of the Lady Bulldog side.
“It was a very stressful match and I don’t know if you call it enjoyment,” Hargrave coach Keanne Burt said. “They showed up, Sweeny really made us work hard for that.”
Sweeny took a quick opening lead in the first game and led by as much as 14-9 before Hargrave closed back in. With 14 kills in the game, it was the final two by senior Megan Edwards — including the winner set up by Crystal Griggs — that gave Sweeny a one-game lead.
Fields led with five kills in the game, Edwards had four and Mallory Weaver added three.
In the second game, there were 11 ties before Hargrave broke a 20-20 deadlock by scoring the final five points with no answer.
Like in the second game, the Lady Falcons continued shooting the ball to the back of Sweeny’s back row in the next game. The Sweeny blockers were giving them fits at the net.
“We tried working corners to try to produce more shots,” Burt said. “But their libero (Mekayla Gurley) is real good and we just kept telling them to stop hitting them to her and make someone else work the pass instead of giving it to her.”
Gurley’s production in the match was astounding, finishing with 94 digs. It was her digs in the back row that started many of the match’s lengthy rallies.
The Lady Falcons got four kills from Wilkins and three from Thomas on their way to 17 in the third game and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
After four early lead changes and with its season on the line, Sweeny broke a 13-13 tie when a net shot by Shelby Russell gave them the lead in game 4. The Lady Bulldogs surged ahead to game point at 24-19 after an out-of-bounds shot by Huffman.
But the Lady Bulldogs allowed Huffman back into the contest when Madi Wiggins’ shot to the back row tied it up again at 24. After another exchange of points, Fields found an open spot on the Lady Falcon court for the lead, then Thomas hit one into the net on a return to give Sweeny the 27-25 win and send it to a fifth and final game.
Sweeny opened that final game with a 5-1 lead after Fields stuffed Wilkins at the net then got a big shot off some blockers at the net. Griggs chipped in by blocking Wilkins at the net, then Weaver got her swing in for the big lead.
But nerves could have set in.
“Like I told the players after the game, they’ve exceeded my expectations every single game,” Dews said. “I cannot be anything but happy for them. I wanted to win and they wanted to win, but this match was excellent.”
The District 24-3A champs finished the season at 22-12. Edwards, Griggs, Shannon Peterson and Emerald Simpson saw their last action as seniors.
BAYTOWN — Five points away from the Class 3A Region III volleyball semifinals, the Sweeny Lady Bulldogs could not hold on.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped a five-game quarterfinal match to Huffman-Hargrave, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 27-25, 12-15, Tuesday night at Lee College, thus giving the Lady Falcons their first trip to the tournament.
In a raucous atmosphere where just about every point was played out, Sweeny held a 10-4 lead in the fifth and final game. But Hargrave (26-7) crawled back into the match after outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 7-1 to knot it up 11-11.
Junior Heaven Fields gave Sweeny the lead back after bouncing one off the defense, but it would be the final point the Lady Bulldogs would score.
“When anxiety is high and the momentum is going back and forth, when we had the lead we couldn’t serve receive and it is because we just got so nervous,” Sweeny coach Loure Dews said. “It was reality to our players that we might not have this as closed out as we thought we did.”
In those final three points for the Lady Falcons, it was Laramie Wilkins coming up with a couple of big shots then Kayden Thomas getting the final hit to the back corner of the Lady Bulldog side.
“It was a very stressful match and I don’t know if you call it enjoyment,” Hargrave coach Keanne Burt said. “They showed up, Sweeny really made us work hard for that.”
Sweeny took a quick opening lead in the first game and led by as much as 14-9 before Hargrave closed back in. With 14 kills in the game, it was the final two by senior Megan Edwards — including the winner set up by Crystal Griggs — that gave Sweeny a one-game lead.
Fields led with five kills in the game, Edwards had four and Mallory Weaver added three.
In the second game, there were 11 ties before Hargrave broke a 20-20 deadlock by scoring the final five points with no answer.
Like in the second game, the Lady Falcons continued shooting the ball to the back of Sweeny’s back row in the next game. The Sweeny blockers were giving them fits at the net.
“We tried working corners to try to produce more shots,” Burt said. “But their libero (Mekayla Gurley) is real good and we just kept telling them to stop hitting them to her and make someone else work the pass instead of giving it to her.”
Gurley’s production in the match was astounding, finishing with 94 digs. It was her digs in the back row that started many of the match’s lengthy rallies.
The Lady Falcons got four kills from Wilkins and three from Thomas on their way to 17 in the third game and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
After four early lead changes and with its season on the line, Sweeny broke a 13-13 tie when a net shot by Shelby Russell gave them the lead in game 4. The Lady Bulldogs surged ahead to game point at 24-19 after an out-of-bounds shot by Huffman.
But the Lady Bulldogs allowed Huffman back into the contest when Madi Wiggins’ shot to the back row tied it up again at 24. After another exchange of points, Fields found an open spot on the Lady Falcon court for the lead, then Thomas hit one into the net on a return to give Sweeny the 27-25 win and send it to a fifth and final game.
Sweeny opened that final game with a 5-1 lead after Fields stuffed Wilkins at the net then got a big shot off some blockers at the net. Griggs chipped in by blocking Wilkins at the net, then Weaver got her swing in for the big lead.
But nerves could have set in.
“Like I told the players after the game, they’ve exceeded my expectations every single game,” Dews said. “I cannot be anything but happy for them. I wanted to win and they wanted to win, but this match was excellent.”
The District 24-3A champs finished the season at 22-12. Edwards, Griggs, Shannon Peterson and Emerald Simpson saw their last action as seniors.