It was all smiles for the Lady Tigers as they whipped Killeen Ellison in the first two games, then rallied in the last to complete the sweep 25-16, 25-11, 25-21 on Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.
“I saw good things,” first-year Belton coach Justeen Patton said. “The things we wanted to try we were successful. They did do what I asked them as far as everyone being in the match and contributing.”
Belton improved 15-10 overall and 4-2 in District 12-5A, while Ellison dropped to 8-22, 0-5.
Every Lady Tigers starter played solidly. Scott served five aces. Grace Weaver had 11 kills, 12 digs and three aces. Becca Owen had five kills and five digs in only two games. Myca San Miguel had 22 assists and three kills from her setter position. Hailey Rosebrock had an all-around performance and Tilatha Akins turned in possibly her best hitting performance with 10 kills.
“She (Akins) works so hard in practice and you can tell,” Patton said. “Everything I teach her, she’s like a sponge. She takes everything in and does what you ask of her. She really focuses and that’s why she has gotten so much better this year.”
Belton committed eight service errors in Game 1, letting the Lady Eagles hang around. With the score tied at 10, the Lady Tigers went on a 10-3 surge fueled by two kills and an ace from Owen and three kills from Akins. Scott finished the game with a kill.
In Game 2, Belton turned a 7-4 lead into a 21-5 margin behind Scott’s superb serving. She smashed a kill, then served four aces in a five-point span and the Lady Tigers never looked back.
“They just weren’t ready to play - simple as that,” first-year Ellison coach Cari Nanna said of her players. “There was no intensity. They have the skills to play anybody, but nerves . . . it wasn’t there.”
Up 2-0 and in charge, Patton subbed out San Miguel, Owen and Scott for the final game to give her younger players some experience.
That’s when the Lady Eagles finally added some drama to the match, taking their first lead at the start and rallying back from a 16-12 deficit to take an 18-17 lead.
But Weaver and Akins had kills, San Miguel returned to add a block and another kill and sophomore Amber Peters finished the match with a kill for the victory.
When pressed, the Lady Tigers handled the adversity, something they’ll need to do in the second half of the district season in order to upend the likes of College Station A&M Consolidated, Copperas Cove and Bryan for the title.
Belton will look to ready itself a little more for that district run when the Lady Tigers host Killeen Shoemaker on Friday.
“We work on things,” Patton said. “It’s a good opportunity for us to work on our offense and to try new things. For instance, I talk a lot to our setters as to, ‘Why did you make this decision?’ It’s a good time for us to work on our game.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
