Alvin rallied from a seven-point third game deficit to top Texas City in four sets by 20-25, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-13 scores here Aug. 7, while sweeping Dobie in straight sets by 25-21, 25-19 and 25-21 scores Friday in Houston.
Alvin recorded both its third straight season-opening victory over the Lady Stings and fourth consecutive triumph over Texas City in as many seasons.
However, the streak appeared to be in jeopardy with the match tied at a set apiece with Texas City jumping to a 11-4 third game lead. Alvin roared back behind the hitting of senior middle blocker Tobi Phillips, senior outside hitter Hadlee Morris and junior Angelina Farias, though, and controlled things the rest of the way.
Phillips blasted a match-high 10 kills, while Morris and Farias hammered seven kills apiece. Senior setter Gabby Hall distributed 25 assists and junior Abby Kincaide belted six aces.
Against Dobie, both Phillips and Morris posted double digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively.
“The one thing we really talk about is being persistent, playing with grit and having a chip on our shoulder and no matter what the score is, don’t look at it,” Alvin head coach Suzy Buechele said following the Texas City match. “It’s one point at a time and with that mind-set, every point matters and you can come back. You don’t focus on that big win or big loss. You go one at a time.
“That’s something we really thrive with.”
Alvin almost rallied from a 23-17 first-game deficit, as Tara Lauersdorf’s kill and an ace by Hall closed the margin to 23- 20. Nykeyia Letroise countered with a spike for Texas City, though, and Alvin then returned a Letroise serve into the net at game point to give the Lady Stings the early set edge.
Kincaide helped the Lady Jackets even the issue in the second game with three aces sparking Alvin to a quick 6-0 advantage. Morris delivered a pair of kills and a solo block on three straight Phillip services to increase the gap to 23-17, while Texas City committed back-to-back hitting miscues to tie the match at a game each.
Texas City appeared ready to re-establish the momentum by grabbing the seven-point cushion in the third set, but Alvin fought back to tie it four times and then took the upper hand for good at 19-18 on a Texas City error. Farias and Lauersdorf also threw in kills and the Lady Stings hammered a shot out of bounds at game point.
While the fourth game proved to be tight early on, the Lady Jackets ultimately pulled away and held a commanding 16-7 lead behind three kills by Phillips and two kills and an ace from Kincaide. Hall closed things out a little later by launching a serve off a Lady Stings’ defender in the back row.
Alvin next hosts Manvel Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then competes at the Gator Classic in Dickinson Aug. 16 and Aug. 18 between an Aug. 17 road match with Shadow Creek (6:30 p.m.) in Pearland.
Returning players for Buechele include senior middle blocker/outside hitter Jenna Edmonds, Hall, Lauersdorf, Morris, senior defensive specialist Rhi Navarro and Phillips.
Navarro delivered eight digs in Tuesday’s match, while Kincaide and senior Haley Gaddy chipped in seven apiece.
Not having as much time to prepare with the way we had tryouts and scrimmages all in just a couple of days, we have stressed that our heart is going to take us really far,” Buechele said. “We’re going to serve aggressive and going to pass well. I think that started off pretty rusty for us. Passing is a mental game, so once we picked up our serves, our passing got better.
“Just forcing the opponents to make the errors and make them make the... Click here to read full article
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