(Seguin) — Fresh off a championship in the Westwood High School Tournament on Saturday, the Seguin Lady Matador volleyball team returned to Goldie Harris Gym last night for their first home match of the season. The Lady Mats fell to the Cibolo Steele Lady Knights by scores of 25-13, 25-10 and 25-18.
Despite falling behind by two sets to a strong Lady Knights squad, Seguin battled Steele through a back-and-forth third set. The Lady Knights took an early 7-2 lead, but Seguin rallied for a 9-8 lead with some great digs and kills. Junior hitter Keighly Dailey made a great save during the 8-8 point to give the Lady Mats the lead. Seguin Coach Ashley Farris said the play created some momentum for the Lady Mats in a match that wasn’t going their way up to that point.
“That was kinda like the breakthrough moment that we were needing to get some momentum. Same thing with Julie Kocian on the outside, she had a great big kill. I just think a couple of those plays back-to-back-to-back, we finally played calm. I wish we had more of those moments. I wish we didn’t start so late in those moments, but we gotta use this as a learning experience.”
Senior Regan Schmidt also came up with some key smashes and blocks during the rally. Junior Zoe Seldon and Sophomore Karina Lerma added some great digs to set up some big points as well. Although she was disappointed with the result Coach Farris said she saw some encouraging signs from her team.
The match with Steele came just five days after the Lady Matadors had their team vans burglarized Friday evening outside an Austin area restaurant while the team was having dinner. Farris said she was proud of the way the team responded to the adversity.
“I can’t say enough about how great they handled the situation along with our parents. Everybody was just super patient and showed a lot of grace and support. I think (our team) showed a lot of courage and it (shows) a lot about their character as human beings. I’m just really proud of them for overcoming the adversity (and) getting up the next day and having fun together and doing what they love.”
The Lady Mats will have one day to rest and then they’ll be on the road to Bastrop on Thursday for the Bastrop High School Tournament which runs through Saturday.
Also on Tuesday night, the Marion Bulldog volleyball team beat Somerset 25-21, 25-15, 25-23. Junior Kacee McLendon lead the way with six aces while senior Hayley Mabee had 9 kills. Marion will be at the Devine Arabian Round-Up Tournament Thursday through Saturday.
And the Navarro Lady Panthers came up short in their home match to Clemens falling in straight sets. Navarro will also play in the Bastrop tournament this weekend.
The Lady Mats in action tonight against Cibolo Steele!
Posted by KWED Radio AM 1580/Seguin Daily News on Tuesday, August 16, 2022
The Lady Mats in action at Goldie Harris tonight! @SeguinMatVB pic.twitter.com/Zf00jlF8fc
— KWED/Seguin Daily News (@kwed) August 17, 2022