KFDM COOP Posted November 4, 2008 Report Posted November 4, 2008 Rock-A-Noos tested but moving on By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News BAYTOWN – The Port Neches-Groves Lady Indians looked to be in the fight of their lives in Tuesday night’s Class 4A Bi-District round of the volleyball playoffs. Facing District 19-4A’s third place team Kingwood Park, PN-G seemed to be in over their heads by the way Game 1 started. But by the end of Game 3, Rock-A-Noos had flexed their muscles and showed Kingwood a thing or two about determination. The fans, meanwhile, showed KP a thing about Indian pride, as in don’t get in a cheering contest with the Purple and White. Yes, the playoff atmosphere was in full affect and the Lady Indians would not be denied. The Tribe won in four games with scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-14. They lost Game 2 25-23, however. Games 1 and 2 were nip and tuck and in both of those games, PN-G fell behind considerably. In the first game, Rock-A-Noos trailed 10-4 before they started to chip away at the Lady Panthers lead. Behind a big rally, PN-G tied the game at 12-12. The teams swapped points until the Lady Tribe took over 18-17. From there, PN-G never looked back to pick up the win. After falling down again by five points in Game 2 and staying behind for most of that second game, the Lady Indians showed their will by tying the score up at 20-20. PN-G then took a 21-20 lead but could not hold on in Game 2, as KP squeezed out the victory. PN-G head coach Barbara Comeaux said she felt like her team proved to the Lady Panthers “that they were not going away.†“When they saw that,†she said, “I think they go a little frustrated and we took advantage of that.†Basically, PN-G derailed KP by the start of Game 3. The Lady Tribe barely broke a sweat in the final two games of the match. Lady Indians’ Stephanie Bowman and Chelsea Horn had a lot to do with PN-G’s success as well. Comeaux said Bowman stepped up and played like she does in practice. She said Bowman played exceptionally well for the Tribe on Tuesday night. “She was really aggressive,†Comeaux said. Bowman finished with nine kills. Horn, meanwhile, led with 20 kills and also had a team-high 24 digs. Alexis Smithy had three aces and 19 digs. Brandi Guidry led with 15 service points. Paige Miller and Shelby Hebert each topped the Tribe with seven blocks, something Comeaux said was very important for her team. “At first they (KP) were killing us,†Comeaux said. “They were hitting over our blocks. They were more aggressive. We finally made some adjustments, our blocking picked up, we got more aggressive and we were able to really mix up our looks. I thought our serving was good tonight too.†Miller also had 21 assists. About the pace of the match, Comeaux said she was extremely proud of her team’s heart, will and the way they fought. “This was by far our best match of the year. This is the playoffs. There are going to be nerves even though it should be just another game. It’s the playoffs so it’s going to come down to which team can handle the pressure better. I think we did that tonight. It’s was a good time to decide to play our best match.†With the win, PN-G improves to 28-8 on the season and will move on to another round of the playoffs. The Lady Tribe will meet the winner of Budahays and Huntsville. The setting of that match should be determined Wednesday.
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