So before Tuesday’s Class 5A bi-district playoff match against Mesquite, all Patton told her players was to simply believe in themselves, in their teammates and that they belonged and could win in the playoffs.
The Lady Tigers heeded Patton’s advice, playing their most complete match of the year in beating the Lady Skeeters 21-25, 25-12, 26-24, 25-23 at Fairfield’s Johnson Activity Center for their first playoff victory since 2004.
“I just think the kids believed in themselves and they did their job,” Patton said. “Every single one did what their role was. They played like a team, they played hard and they believed in themselves.
“I wanted it really bad for them and I think they wanted it really bad for themselves.”
Belton (21-13) advanced to the area round to face Garland Sachse, which beat Carrollton Creekview in four games Tuesday, later in the week at a time and site to be determined.
The Lady Tigers, who played nervously and were quickly ousted by Round Rock McNeil in last year playoff opener, had plenty of chances to fold throughout the match but never did.
Belton held a 16-13 lead in the first game before District 11-5A champion Mesquite (25-12) went on a 5-0 run, grabbing its first lead of the match. The Lady Tigers pulled within 21-20 but eventually let Game 1 slip away.
That’s when Belton’s belief kicked in.
“We had to prove ourselves and had to have the drive to want to win because we knew we were better,” said senior setter Myca San Miguel, who had 39 assists and 10 digs.
Added senior outside hitter Becca Owen: “Even though we lost that game, I think we felt more comfortable because we had seen them and knew what to do.”
Owen (22 kills, 14 digs, three blocks) opened the second game with a block for a point and a kill. Then after great serving by senior Tilatha Akins (six blocks) and junior Hailey Rosebrock (four blocks, 11 digs) and poor execution by the Lady Skeeters, the Lady Tigers opened a 20-9 lead and cruised to the easy win.
In Game 3, Belton’s belief and competitive fire were tested throughout.
In a see-saw affair in which neither team led by more than two points, Belton finally appeared to pull away when Mesquite middle blocker and Southern Methodist commitment Courtney Manning (18 kills) couldn’t handle Akins’ serve, giving the Lady Tigers a 19-16 lead.
With Belton leading 22-19, the 6-1 Manning took over, smashing three kills to eventually tie the game at 23.
But Lady Skeeters setter Joni Roland had a service error, one of Mesquite’s 12 in the match, and the Lady Tigers took a 24-23 lead.
After Belton was unable to get the ball over, forging a 24-all tie, Rosebrock dug Manning’s attack and Owen had a kill for a 25-24 lead. Sophomore Grace Weaver (12 kills, nine digs) finished off the win with a kill that rolled along the net.
In Game 4, the Lady Tigers’ strong defense started to take control. Akins blocked Manning on consecutive attempts to give Belton a 13-7 lead.
“After the first game, we kind of rotated around shutting her down,” said Akins, who was matched up with Manning for most of the match.
While Manning was being neutralized, Mesquite’s Ariel Sanders had two kills to draw the Lady Skeeters within 18-17.
Owen, though, wasn’t about to let the game slip away. She blasted a kill through the defense, had another off a Rosebrock assist and ripped her third straight past two defenders to give Belton a 21-17 lead.
“I wasn’t even seeing the blocker or anything. I was just swinging as hard as I could,” Owen said.
Manning answered back with four kills to make it 23-22, but the Lady Skeeters were called for a lift, giving possession back to the Lady Tigers.
After Manning hammered her final kill, Sanders’ attack was ruled out of bounds to complete Belton’s victory.
Controlling Manning, Mesquite’s only major offensive threat, was the Lady Tigers’ biggest concern and they responded to the challenge with 21 blocks, led by Akins’ six and sophomore Amber Peters’ five.
“I saw us play defense better than we have all year,” Patton said. “I saw us blocking better than we did all year. You could tell in practice that they wanted it bad. Their focus level changed and they were a little more determined.
“Hopefully Belton volleyball is on the way up."
It definitely looked that way Tuesday night.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
