Belton didn’t get it.
At times, Belton matched the more experienced Consol squad punch-for-punch. At other times, Belton looked confused and flustered as Consol swept the Lady Tigers 25-22, 25-12, 25-22 on Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.
“The players know what we need to do to make the change,” first-year Belton coach Justeen Patton said. “It’s just the fact that we have to make it. It’s a lot of talk and a lot of understanding and agreement, but it’s like, ‘When are we going to make the change?’”
Belton fell to 12-9 overall and 1-1 in district, while Consol improved to 17-7, 1-0 after its Friday matchup with Copperas Cove was postponed because of Hurricane Ike.
With the teams tied at 12 in the first game, 6-4 Carla Gilbert helped Consol pull away. She had two kills and Ashton Holliday added another as Consol eventually grabbed a 19-15 lead, forcing a Belton timeout.
With Consol leading 23-16, Belton senior Becca Owen (team-high 14 kills) recorded two kills and had an ace and sophomore Grace Weaver slammed a kill to trim the lead to 24-22. The rally fell short when senior Tilatha Akins served the next point into the net, giving Consol the first game.
Game 2 was one to forget for Belton.
Consol’s balanced attack of Gilbert, Holliday, Erika Arthur, Shelby Dickson and Mimi McFarland dominated at the net, combining for 13 kills in the game and leaving Belton defenders on their heels and out of position. Holliday led the team with 10 kills for the match, Arthur and McFarland had nine each and Gilbert and Dickson added eight apiece.
“That’s nice to see,” Consol coach Cydryce McMillian said. “It means we were firing on all cylinders. We played very well. To see we have five hitters with eight or more kills, that means we were putting the ball on target and had lots of options. That’s what you’re always looking for.”
Patton had a different take on Consol’s superior net play.
“We made the mistake of the way we set up our defense,” Patton said. “We changed it but we changed it too late and they took advantage of that. They’re a very good hitting team.
“Our communication is not where it needs to be. It needs to be a lot better for us to be beating teams like A&M and to be where we want to be.”
Down two games, Belton fought back in the third to take a 17-16 lead. But Weaver and Kimesha Scott both launched their attacks out of bounds and Holliday had two kills as Consol took a 20-17 lead.
Owen closed the deficit to 24-22, but Arthur’s kill through Akins’ block sealed the victory.
“We play well in moments,” Patton said. “We’re not consistent enough and we’re not strong enough to hold that momentum for a long period of time. We show up in spurts and then we let one play affect the next. Then it’s a domino effect and we can’t dig ourselves out of the hole.”
Along with her team-high 14 kills, Owen had 14 digs, Myca San Miguel had 28 assists and nine digs, Weaver had 10 kills and Hailey Rosebrock had a team-high 15 digs.
After the disappointing performance, several players, along with Patton, said they are ready for the rematch Oct. 10 to show Consol that Belton still is a 12-5A contender.
“I think we learned a lot from tonight’s match and I’m very excited to play them at their place,” Patton said.
Belton will play at Bryan on Friday night.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
