BH, Crosby, REL, Sterling all make the playoffs

[sticky]

By Doyle Barlow & Michael Pineda

Baytown Sun

Published October 22, 2006

By DOYLE BARLOW and MICHAEL PINEDA

BAYTOWN — The Lee Lady Ganders clinched at least fourth place in District 21-5A and a playoff berth with a thrilling five-game home win over Channelview Friday night.

REL (22-12, 7-6) trailed the Lady Falcons 14-10 in the fifth and deciding game, but with their backs against the wall and one point away from defeat, Kevyn Jackson served for six straight points, sparking the Lady Ganders to an 18-16 victory and sparking a big celebration.

“I told them to look up and see the banner up there, they’ll have their own hanging up there soon,†REL head coach Alicia Salinas said. “Everything from here on out is a bonus, because making the playoffs was our goal going in to the season.

“Everyone played great, but the season is not over with.â€

REL won the first game of the match 25-17 and the third game, 25-18. Channelview’s wins were in the second game (25-21) and fourth game (25-20).

Jackson led the Lady Ganders with 27 kills and 10 digs, while Shardae Philogene added 14 kills and Lori Ward had 35 assists.

REL will close out the regular season Tuesday night at Atascocita.

A Lady Gander victory in that match would forge a third-place tie in the district with Atascocita (14-18, 8-5), meaning the schools would have to face off again next Thursday or Friday to determine playoff seeding.

Kingwood is alone in first place in the district at 13-0, while Sterling is a game back at 12-1. Those two will meet Tuesday night at RSS, with the district title on the line.

Sterling

PORT ARTHUR — However hot it may have been inside the Port Arthur gym, the Lady Rangers were hotter, as they breezed through their last road match of the regular season to set up an all-important District 21-5A showdown with Kingwood Tuesday.

With the starters flexing their strength and the bench gaining valuable playing time, Sterling knocked off Port Arthur 25-6, 25-10 and 25-9. The win gave RSS a 12-1 district record, one game behind Kingwood.

“We did what we had to do and we managed to stay focused,†RSS head coach Nadine Horne said. “We got the game over with and we know what game we need to start focusing on. It is either now or we can talk about it for the rest of the year.â€

Sterling was never threatened in their match with the Lady Titans and they never trailed. The first game set the tone for the match, as the Lady Rangers jumped out to a 13-1 lead. Leading 4-1, Sterling ripped off nine straight points behind the serving of Amber Russell, who had an ace, and the play of Destiny Mason who had five kills in the run. Port Arthur was able to put some points on the board and close to within 16-4 but it had little impact as Ashley Tadlock put together four kills and Katie Breazeale added two kills and two blocks to put Sterling at game point. Russell recorded her second ace of the game to place RSS out in front at 1-0.

Sterling jumped out to 3-0 in the second game when play was suspended momentarily when the referee was asked to move her car. Timmy Massengale was credited with an assist as he came out of the stands to move the car and play resumed with the Lady Rangers taking an 8-1 lead.

The Lady Titans put two on the scoreboard but were answered with a 5-1 run as Mason had three kills and Breazeale added another one. Port Arthur had another two point burst only to be answered with a kill and block by Priscilla Massengale and the Lady Rangers cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match.

Breazeale picked up two kills and Mason matched her with two more as Sterling took a 6-0 lead in the last game. An ace by Tadlock as well as a kill in the run lifted the Lady Rangers as they put it on cruise control to close out the game and match.

Mason had 19 kills on the night and Breazeale added 10. Courtney Zink had 12 digs and Russell was credited with 29 assists as Sterling improved to 34-5 overall.

Barbers Hill

With the District 21-4A title already in hand, the Barbers Hill volleyball team closed out the district campaign undefeated Friday night with a 25-6, 25-10, 25-3 win over Smiley, who finished the season 0-17. Next up for Barbers Hill will be a warm-up game at Wimberly on Saturday and then the Area playoffs. The Eagles, who get a bi-district round bye, will face the winner of Sante Fe and Lamar Consolidated.

“We played fine and we had even playing time,†BH head coach John Leonard said. “We are going to put the screws down. The early rounds could be our toughest ones. If we get past area we will play Port Neches-Grove, C.E. King or Friendswood.

“We have an open week and we are going to scout and begin to put our strategies in. We are going to have some long practices this week.â€

Keely Rivera led the Eagles with eight kills in the win as everyone saw action. Barbers Hill improved to 29-7 overall and 14-0 in district.

“I wouldn’t want to play us in the playoffs,†Leonard said. “What we do is unique and fast. We will play as long and as hard as we need to.â€

Crosby

While Crosby has been winning in the second half of the season, they have not been as dominating as they were in the early part of district play. It caught up with the young team on Friday, as they fell to Galena Park 20-25, 29-27, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10.

The loss did not hurt the Lady Cougars’ standing as the second place team in District 21-4A as they will travel to Beaumont Ozen at 7 p.m. Thursday to face Little Cypress-Mauriceville in a bi-district playoff match.

“It makes me very upset,†CHS head coach Stephanie Cone said of the loss. “I don’t know what happened and I am concerned. But now we start off with a new record. What we did before doesn’t matter.

“You have to be upset but you can’t dwell on it. We will put everything we have into Thursday’s game. When this team gets out and plays, they are tough.â€

Brittany Hoag led Crosby with 16 kills and Lacy Bates and Courtney Nutt had 11 kills each. Kristin Pannabecker and Lindsey Bates each had eight kills and Meagan Travis had 34 assists.

The loss dropped Crosby’s record to 22-7 overall and 11-3 in district.

[KFDM COOP]

Congrats!