Ladycats win Area Volleyball Title
by By Larry Speights Special to The News
(Posted 11/12/2009 02:03 pm)
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As previously reported, the Mexia ladycat volleyball team traveled to Rusk on Thursday, Nov 5, to take on the Diboll Ladyjacks in the Area playoff round. The Ladycats improved their season record to 31-11 by defeating the ladyjacks in 4 games, 15-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-18. This also gave Mexia the Area Championship for the second year in a row. Mexia now plays Longview Spring Hill, in the Regional Quarterfinals tonight, Tuesday, Nov 10, in Eustace at 7PM. Longview Spring Hill proved they will be a formidable opponent when they defeated Robinson, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19, in their Area playoff game. Mexia defeated Robinson twice during the regular district season, so this sets up as a relatively even match, which either team could win.
One concern with getting a first round bye in the playoffs is the team you play, Diboll in this case, has already played and won a playoff game. The winning team coming in often has momentum, having already won a playoff match, and the team yet to play in the playoffs may have some butterflies. But, Mexia has an experienced team. And, while Diboll proved to be a formidable opponent early, as they blocked well and Mexia’s defense and offense was shaky, Mexia managed to right itself in time and win going away. In the first game, as an example of just how shaky the Mexia offense was, Mexia recorded only 2 offensive kills the entire game. Mexia’s lack of offense was evident in the game 1 final score. Mexia also committed 11 errors, translating into 11 Diboll points, in the first game. Diboll also played good defense early. Contrast this with the 13 kills and 15 kills in games 3 and 4 for the lady cats and it is evident Mexia picked up their offensive game.
A huge turning point in the match came in the 2nd game, after Mexia had given up a 19-13 lead and trailed 21-24. It looked as though Diboll was about to take a commanding 2-0 game lead in the best 3 of 5 match. But, Mexia held on, scored the final 5 points of game 2 and managed to tie the match at 1-1. This seemed to deflate the Diboll team, and they could never recover, as Mexia won the last two games and the match going away.
In game 1, Mexia took a quick 2-0 lead on a kill by Cori Speights, followed by a Mexia block for point. Mexia stretch the lead to 7-3 after another Mexia block for point and a Diboll hitting error. From this point, Diboll took control scoring the next 6 points on a kill, followed by two Mexia serve receive errors and three consecutive Diboll blocks for point for the 7-9 score. Three Diboll errors briefly kept Mexia in the game with Mexia trailing only 10-11. But, three consecutive Diboll kills and a Mexia error made the score 10-15. Mexia narrowed the score to 14-16 on a kill by Cori and a Diboll hitting error. But, this is as close as Mexia would get. The only Mexia point the rest of the game was on a Diboll serving error, which made the score 15-19. From this point, Diboll recorded 3 kills and Mexia committed 3 errors for the final 15-25 score.
Game 2 was clearly the turning point in this match. Mexia started off quickly and again took a 7-3 lead, but this time Mexia got there with their offense, recording a kill from Asha Dansby, three kills from Cori and finally a kill from Katie Day for the 7-3 lead. Mexia stretched the lead to 11-5 after a kill by Courtney Condon and a Mexia block for point. Mexia maintained the 6 point lead and moved it to 7 at 19-12 after a Diboll hitting error. At this point, when it seemed Mexia was well in control, the momentum changed. Mexia was outscored 2-12 over the next 14 points. Mexia still led 21-19 when Mexia committed 4 errors on the next 5 points giving Diboll the 21-24 lead. But, Diboll made their own error by serving into the net on game point for the 22-24 score. This brought Kendle Brizendine to the service line. Kendle’s first serve produced lots of drama as the serve tipped the top of the net and just cleared. Diboll then made a cross court hit for the potential kill and win, but Keke Bluitt dove to her left and managed to get the dig. Mexia only managed to return the ball after this dig and on the ensuing Diboll hit, Earline Mims recorded a block for point and the 23-24 score. Kendle then served out the game with Diboll committing three consecutive errors to give Mexia the 26-24 win and, more importantly, tied the match at 1 game each.
In game 3, it was clear the game 2 loss had deflated the ladyjacks a bit. Mexia continued improving their offense and took a quick 1-0 lead on a kill from Kendle. The score went back and forth a bit, but Mexia was getting 2 points for every 1 point for Diboll. Mexia took an 8-4 lead, with kills from 5 different players, Cori, Asha, Katie , Kendle and Courtney (2). Mexia eventually took a 20-14 lead after a kill from Kendle. This brought Sarah Calame to the service line and she was able to serve the last five points. Mexia recorded kills from Katie and Kendle during this 5 point stretch with Diboll also committing 3 errors for the final 25-14 Mexia win and 2 games to 1 match lead.
In game 4, Diboll would not go away quietly and with the score 2-1, Diboll scored 5 consecutive points, including 4 points on Mexia errors for the 2-6 score. A kill by Cori, for the 3-6 score finally stopped the Diboll run. Mexia finally got their offense going again and managed to tie the score at 9 after a kill by Asha. Diboll again stretched the lead to 3 points, at 10-13, after a Diboll serve tipped the net and fell in for a Diboll point. Mexia managed to tie the score again at 14 and at 15 before taking charge in the game. A kill by Asha gave Mexia the lead for good at 16-15. With Mexia leading 20-17, Mexia put on a final show, recording kills from Kendle, Katie (2), and Courtney(2) for 5 of the next 6 points. The final point came on a great bump off the Diboll serve from Sarah Calame to setter Mary Speights, who setup the kill for Courtney, and the 25-18 win and 3 games to 1 match win.
In the 4 games, from game 1 to game 4, Mexia improved their defense each game, reduced their errors from the first game, and improved their kill total each game. Reduced errors, better defense and more offense resulted in the eventual match win.
by By Larry Speights Special to The News
(Posted 11/12/2009 02:03 pm)
One concern with getting a first round bye in the playoffs is the team you play, Diboll in this case, has already played and won a playoff game. The winning team coming in often has momentum, having already won a playoff match, and the team yet to play in the playoffs may have some butterflies. But, Mexia has an experienced team. And, while Diboll proved to be a formidable opponent early, as they blocked well and Mexia’s defense and offense was shaky, Mexia managed to right itself in time and win going away. In the first game, as an example of just how shaky the Mexia offense was, Mexia recorded only 2 offensive kills the entire game. Mexia’s lack of offense was evident in the game 1 final score. Mexia also committed 11 errors, translating into 11 Diboll points, in the first game. Diboll also played good defense early. Contrast this with the 13 kills and 15 kills in games 3 and 4 for the lady cats and it is evident Mexia picked up their offensive game.
A huge turning point in the match came in the 2nd game, after Mexia had given up a 19-13 lead and trailed 21-24. It looked as though Diboll was about to take a commanding 2-0 game lead in the best 3 of 5 match. But, Mexia held on, scored the final 5 points of game 2 and managed to tie the match at 1-1. This seemed to deflate the Diboll team, and they could never recover, as Mexia won the last two games and the match going away.
In game 1, Mexia took a quick 2-0 lead on a kill by Cori Speights, followed by a Mexia block for point. Mexia stretch the lead to 7-3 after another Mexia block for point and a Diboll hitting error. From this point, Diboll took control scoring the next 6 points on a kill, followed by two Mexia serve receive errors and three consecutive Diboll blocks for point for the 7-9 score. Three Diboll errors briefly kept Mexia in the game with Mexia trailing only 10-11. But, three consecutive Diboll kills and a Mexia error made the score 10-15. Mexia narrowed the score to 14-16 on a kill by Cori and a Diboll hitting error. But, this is as close as Mexia would get. The only Mexia point the rest of the game was on a Diboll serving error, which made the score 15-19. From this point, Diboll recorded 3 kills and Mexia committed 3 errors for the final 15-25 score.
Game 2 was clearly the turning point in this match. Mexia started off quickly and again took a 7-3 lead, but this time Mexia got there with their offense, recording a kill from Asha Dansby, three kills from Cori and finally a kill from Katie Day for the 7-3 lead. Mexia stretched the lead to 11-5 after a kill by Courtney Condon and a Mexia block for point. Mexia maintained the 6 point lead and moved it to 7 at 19-12 after a Diboll hitting error. At this point, when it seemed Mexia was well in control, the momentum changed. Mexia was outscored 2-12 over the next 14 points. Mexia still led 21-19 when Mexia committed 4 errors on the next 5 points giving Diboll the 21-24 lead. But, Diboll made their own error by serving into the net on game point for the 22-24 score. This brought Kendle Brizendine to the service line. Kendle’s first serve produced lots of drama as the serve tipped the top of the net and just cleared. Diboll then made a cross court hit for the potential kill and win, but Keke Bluitt dove to her left and managed to get the dig. Mexia only managed to return the ball after this dig and on the ensuing Diboll hit, Earline Mims recorded a block for point and the 23-24 score. Kendle then served out the game with Diboll committing three consecutive errors to give Mexia the 26-24 win and, more importantly, tied the match at 1 game each.
In game 3, it was clear the game 2 loss had deflated the ladyjacks a bit. Mexia continued improving their offense and took a quick 1-0 lead on a kill from Kendle. The score went back and forth a bit, but Mexia was getting 2 points for every 1 point for Diboll. Mexia took an 8-4 lead, with kills from 5 different players, Cori, Asha, Katie , Kendle and Courtney (2). Mexia eventually took a 20-14 lead after a kill from Kendle. This brought Sarah Calame to the service line and she was able to serve the last five points. Mexia recorded kills from Katie and Kendle during this 5 point stretch with Diboll also committing 3 errors for the final 25-14 Mexia win and 2 games to 1 match lead.
In game 4, Diboll would not go away quietly and with the score 2-1, Diboll scored 5 consecutive points, including 4 points on Mexia errors for the 2-6 score. A kill by Cori, for the 3-6 score finally stopped the Diboll run. Mexia finally got their offense going again and managed to tie the score at 9 after a kill by Asha. Diboll again stretched the lead to 3 points, at 10-13, after a Diboll serve tipped the net and fell in for a Diboll point. Mexia managed to tie the score again at 14 and at 15 before taking charge in the game. A kill by Asha gave Mexia the lead for good at 16-15. With Mexia leading 20-17, Mexia put on a final show, recording kills from Kendle, Katie (2), and Courtney(2) for 5 of the next 6 points. The final point came on a great bump off the Diboll serve from Sarah Calame to setter Mary Speights, who setup the kill for Courtney, and the 25-18 win and 3 games to 1 match win.
In the 4 games, from game 1 to game 4, Mexia improved their defense each game, reduced their errors from the first game, and improved their kill total each game. Reduced errors, better defense and more offense resulted in the eventual match win.
