Eventually the Lady Tigers couldn’t hold off the charge any longer and fell 25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21 to the Lady Mustangs in a Class 5A Region II area-round volleyball playoff match at Waco High School.
“They fought like dogs,” first-year Belton coach Justeen Patton said. “I told them everyone in this gym saw how hard they fought.
“I told them to hold their heads up high because they gave it all they had. That’s all you can ask of them. And they left it all on the court.”
The Lady Tigers finished the season with a 21-14 record, advancing to the area round for the first time since 2004. Sachse (30-15) will face the winner of today’s match between sixth-ranked Richardson Lake Highlands and Bryan.
Seniors Becca Owen (17 kills, 10 digs), Myca San Miguel (34 assists, 17 digs) and Tilatha Akins (three blocks, six digs) closed out their careers, posting consecutive 20-win seasons and two straight playoff berths.
“The seniors ended the season very well and should be extremely proud of themselves,” Patton said. “They started a tradition back up again at Belton.”
With Belton leading 19-17 in the fourth game, the Lady Mustangs finally took control.
Sophomore setter Lainey Clark (37 assists) had the last of her five kills, Allegra Wells blocked Grace Weaver (17 kills) for a point to tie the game and sophomore Marissa Olivares (22 kills, 11 digs) hammered a kill through Akins and San Miguel’s block for a 20-19 lead.
Weaver had a kill to tie it at 20 before another Olivares kill gave Sachse the lead again at 21-20. Once again, Weaver answered, blocking Wells’ attack to tie the game at 21, but the Lady Tigers finally ran out of gas.
Olivares had a kill and Wells blocked Hailey Rosebrock’s attack for a point and a 23-21 lead. Then Wells slammed down a point and Haley Richburg ended the match with a kill to give the Lady Mustangs the hard-fought win.
“They were ready and I’m super proud of them to fight,” said Sachse coach Rikki Jones, whose team played a match that lasted longer than three games for the first time since Sept. 12, a span of 14 in a row. “They just haven’t been pushed or been pushed too much. They haven’t found that good balance on how to push back, but they did tonight.”
Olivares got the Lady Mustangs off to a great start in the first game, scoring on her first five attacks to give Sachse a 9-3 lead. Olivares punctuated the flurry by knocking over Belton’s Chelsea Lomprey in the back row. She finished the game with six kills as the Lady Tigers never got within six points.
“She doesn’t ever give in or stop swinging,” Patton said. “She has a really funky arm swing and since it’s so different, it’s hard to defend. But our timing with our blocks all night was off.”
In Game 2, the Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 20-12 lead, but Belton fought back. Weaver had four kills to draw the Lady Tigers to within 22-18, but Owen’s attack error and Lomprey’s service error put Belton down two games.
With their season on the verge of ending in quick fashion, the Lady Tigers made several adjustments and took control in Game 3, racing to a 21-8 lead.
Sachse, though, used a late 9-1 rally to pull within five points before Olivares’ serve landed in the net, giving Belton the game.
“All I asked for is some momentum,” Jones said of when her team trailed 21-8. “I was so proud of my kids for staying calm and collected.”
Said Patton about the effort: “We showed how much fight and heart we have. I expect us to carry it on next year."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
