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Lady Rangers, Kingwood wage classic battle

By Michael Pineda

Baytown Sun

Published October 25, 2006

Sterling’s bid for the District 21-5A co-championship came up short Tuesday night but not because of a lack of effort. In a game, which met playoff standards and then some, the Lady Rangers fell to No. 5 Kingwood 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23.

With the loss, RSS ended the regular season at 33-6 and 12-2 in the district, while Kingwood finished a perfect 14-0 on 21-5A.

“We left it on the court tonight,†RSS head coach Nadine Horne said. “We left it, every bit of it, on the court. We had our opportunities, it just wasn’t meant to happen.â€

Both teams played outstanding defense throughout the match as bodies flew to the floor for digs on a regular basis. Sterling’s bid to claim their first district championship since 1997 came up short however and they will enter the playoffs as the District 21-5A runner-up.

Sterling took a lead in the first game on a kill by Ashley Tadlock although it was Priscilla Massengale who set the tone early with a great dig.

The Lady Rangers held the lead at 8-7 only to see Kingwood rip off a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. The lead grew to 20-10 before Katie Breazeale stopped the bleeding with a block.

Three more points cut the lead to 20-14 but that would be as close as RSS got in the eight-point loss.

“In some spots we played intimidated in the first game,†Horne said.

From the second game on Sterling looked like a completely different team going toe to toe with the defending district champion. In the first game, Destiny Mason was a non-factor offensively but that would change in a hurry. The senior logged her second kill of the night to tie the game at 3-3.

Kingwood rebounded to take a 6-5 lead but the Lady Rangers responded on a kill by Mason and a block and kill by Tani Eschberger for an 8-6 lead.

Sterling kept momentum in their favor as each time the Lady Mustangs would put together a surge, Mason had an answer.

Kingwood pulled within one at 14-13, but Mason picked up two kills. Kingwood tied the game at 16, but Mason hit the ball to an open spot on the floor and followed up with an ace. A Tadlock kill made the score 19-16 forcing a Kingwood timeout.

The Lady Mustangs came out of the timeout discombobulated, giving up a point for a misalignment. Kingwood was not finished however, as they pulled within 23-22. Mason had one more kill for game point and a ball hit out of bounds gave Sterling a 1-1 tie.

The Lady Rangers came out smoking in the third game jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind three Mason kills. Kingwood put two points together but three more Sterling points made the score 11-3 and forced the second Lady Mustang timeout of the game.

The RSS lead stayed at eight points with the score at 15-7 before the visitors began to work back into the game. Kingwood took the lead at 21-20 on two consecutive blocks. An Eschberger block tied the game at 21-21 and a Tadlock ace tied the game at 23-23.

Kingwood closed the game out with two consecutive points for a 2-1 lead.

Much like the third game, Sterling held the lead most of the game only to see it slip away at the end. The Lady Rangers found themselves trailing 10-7 before ripping off a 5-0 run. Massengale came up big with two kills and a block. Kingwood tied it up at 12-12 only to see mistakes give RSS the lead back at 15-12.

Sterling’s held i’s last lead at 22-21 when the Lady Mustangs scored four consecutive points. Tadlock pulled RSS within one at 24-23 on a tip, but a kill by Kathryn Garner secured the district championship.

“I normally don’t talk to the kids on the floor after the game,†Horne said. “But when they were trying to walk out with their heads down I said we weren’t going to have any of that. We just played one of the best matches that you are going to see.â€

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