sticky Posted August 25, 2006 Report Posted August 25, 2006 RSS, REL, BH combine to go 5-1 in tournament By Michael Pineda Baytown Sun Published August 25, 2006 LA PORTE — With their backs against the wall, the Sterling volleyball team found the poise needed to knock off a big-hitting Pearland team and advance to the winner’s quarterfinals in the 27th Annual La Porte Varsity Volleyball Tournament Thursday. The Lady Rangers defeated Texas City in their opening match 25-10, 25-15 but found a much tougher opponent in Pearland in the second round. Sterling lost the first game 25-14, but rebounded for a 25-21 win to force a third set. In the third set, RSS fell behind 5-0 but rallied to pull out a 15-12 win and improve to 6-0 on the year. In other action, Barbers Hill battled through a tough opening-round match against Brazoswood to pull out a 25-16, 24-26, 15-12 win. In the second round the Eagles had a much easier go of it, cruising to a 25-11, 25-15 win over North Shore. Lee lost their opening match to Channelview 25-15, 25-16 and overcame a sluggish start in an elimination round match against South Houston, to win 26-24, 25-8. “We showed a whole lot of character at the end of the match against Pearland,†RSS head coach Nadine Horne said. “We came out shaking in our boots. They had a lot of big hitters but it doesn’t matter. We didn’t give 100 percent in the first game when we came out scared, but we are young. “This is our biggest win of the year and it will help the girls’ confidence a lot. There are several good teams in this tournament and we are going to have to come out and play.†Sterling came out in the second game strong, jumping out to a 7-2 lead after a Destiny Mason kill and a point on a tip by Ashley Tadlock. Pearland retook momentum and took the lead at 12-11. A Mason kill returned the serve to Sterling and the team took advantage as Amber Russell scored three aces to lead the Lady Rangers out to a 17-12 lead. Sterling held the lead for the rest of the game although Pearland did forge a rally to close the gap. Focusing on Mason, the Lady Oilers pulled within 24-21 but an errant hit out of bounds gave Sterling the win to force a third game. In the third game, the Lady Rangers came out flat by falling behind 5-0. Two hitting errors put Sterling on the board and allowed them to get back in the game. Led by Courtney Zink, the RSS defense held firm against the power-hitting attack of Pearland, and a block by Tani Eschberger and a lift tied the game at 9-9. Twice Pearland broke the Sterling serve only to serve the ball into the net. Katie Breazeale scored a point to give Sterling a 12-11 lead and an ace by Lauren Lamb and a kill by Mason led to the win as Pearland hit the ball into the net and fell short on game point. Sterling will jump back into tournament action Saturday at 10 a.m. when they face Huntsville. Barbers Hill also secured a spot in the winner’s bracket this Saturday when they easily defeated Galena Park. In both games played the Eagles broke open a close match midway though to easily win. “That was what I wanted,†BH head coach John Leonard said. “Everyone got to play. That is the kind of game that I expect to win. When I saw the bracket I expected to win two games today. We have a tradition here.†In the first game the Eagles found themselves with a 13-11 lead. After breaking serve they closed the game out with 12 straight points. Keely Rivera got the ball rolling with three straight kills and Maddy Hazlewood added another to make the score 18-11. Behind the serving of Courtney Johnson the Eagle game flowed, and with two aces, Johnson put the finishing touches on a 25-11 win. In the second game, Barbers Hill rested several members of the backline but suffered no ill effects. The Eagles did find themselves trailing 10-7, but an ace by Rivera allowed Barbers Hill to retake the lead at 11-10. Galena Park did pull within two points at 15-13 but once again the game slipped away from the Lady Mustangs, as three hitting mistakes made the score 18-14. Courtney Johnson took control on serve and once again had a chance to close the game out scoring six straight points, two on kills by Rivera. A net serve gave Galena Park the ball back trailing 24-15, but a Rivera kill put an end to the match. On Saturday, The Eagles (6-2) will face Pasadena Memorial at Pasadena Memorial at 11 a.m. In Lee’s second game of the day against South Houston, the Lady Ganders should not have struggled, but they did. They also had no business winning the first game, but they did. Horrible defense, setting and passing placed Lee in a 15-6 hole against the Lady Trojans. The bad string was broken up when Kevyn Jackson attempted to make a pass and sent the ball over the net for a point. For whatever reason the point kickstarted the Lady Ganders out of their abyss as they suddenly looked like a different team, cruising to the win. “If we don’t have our fundamentals we are going to get beat,†REL head coach Alicia Salinas said. “We got two blocks by Julie Bartrip which pumped the team up and we also began to get better passing and serving. We always have one player step up but if everyone steps it up we are going to be in good shape.†The two blocks by Bartrip came with Lee trailing 22-16 following a kill by Shardae Philogene. The Ganders took over serve trailing 24-23 and scored the last four points of the game for the win. In the second game it was all Lee as they easily cruised to a 25-8 win. South Houston was in the game, trailing 13-8 but Lee closed the game out with 12 straight points spearheaded by the service game of Carol Spence, who had five aces. Lee who is 3-2 on the year will face Texas City at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Crosby MONTGOMERY — The Crosby volleyball team did not have the type of start they wanted in the Montgomery tournament, losing an opening game against Oak Ridge 25-18, 25-23. The Lady Cougars did rebound to end on a solid note against Conroe with a 25-22, 25-21 win to improve to 6-2. “We should have won the game against Oak Ridge,†CHS head coach Stephanie Cone said. “We looked like we weren’t having any fun. Everyone has something wrong with them right now and it showed. “In the second game against Conroe I just told the girls to have fun. We went out there and played great. The whole team came together.†Crosby suffered a loss in the first game match against Oak Ridge when setter Megan Travis had to leave the game due to an injury she suffered in practice on Wednesday. Kristin Pannabecker stepped in and played a big role in the win against Conroe.
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