Buda Hays next for Rock-A-Noos

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Buda Hays next for Rock-A-Noos

By Cody Pastorella

The Port Arthur News

Port Neches-Groves seniors Chelsea Horn and Alexis Smithy said before the start of this volleyball season that they wanted their team to come together, win a district title and make it deep into the playoffs. They suggested a Class 4A state championship would be a nice way of going out for head coach Barbara Comeaux and the rest of the Lady Indians.

Well, so far the season has gone somewhat to plan. The Lady Tribe placed second in District 22-4A with a 12-2 mark, finishing one game behind Little Cypress-Mauriceville.

The playoff goals started with a bang, however.

PN-G fought hard to take a 1-1 split in Tuesday's Bi-District round of the playoffs against Kingwood Park. Then in the final two games, the Lady Indians rolled, claiming a 3-1 win to move onto the Region III, area round where they will meet Buda Hays High School tonight at 7 p.m. in the Coleman Coliseum across from Stratford High School on the west side of Houston.

Buda Hays took home the District 17-4A title with a perfect 12-0 mark. Hays also claimed a 24-15 overall record this season, a record Buda improved Tuesday by topping Huntsville in the bidistrict round.

Horn and Smithy both said earlier this season that it was time for the Rock-A-Noos to win a few playoff matches. After a clean district slate that accompanied a championship in 2007, the Lady Indians were bullied by Sante Fe in their first playoff game.

Horn and Smithy went to work on Tuesday to get that monkey off thier collective backs. Along with other great efforts from senior leaders, Horn posted a team-high 20 kills and 24 digs. Meanwhile, Smithy had 19 digs and dropped in three aces, helping PN-G improve to 28-8 on the season.

Smithy, Horn, Stephanie Bowman, Mallory Livingston, Hannah Lancaster, Carlie Clopton, Shelby Blanchard, Lauryn Stephens, Paige Blount, Paige Miller, Alexus Harper, Ashli Landry, Brandi Guidry, Shelby Hebert and Samantha Lunceford will hope to repeat Tuesday's success again tonight.

Directions to the Stratford High School are as follows: Take I-10 West through Houston and toward San Antonio. Take the Dairy Ashford Road toward Westpark Drive for 3.5 miles heading south. Take a right on Fern Drive. The Coleman Coliseum is across from high school.