VOLLEYBALL: District game a loss for Conroe but it's just the start of the season (videos)

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Conroe Lady Tigers fully expected to stop The Woodlands High volleyball team’s winning streak, but the game ended in three sets: 25-16, 25-18, 25-22. The season’s still young and so is the Conroe team.

Conroe’s varsity consisting of four seniors, three juniors, and five sophomores, underscoring the success of its feeder program. The Woodlands High School has another strong team with five seasoned seniors, a junior, and four sophomores. So all things somewhat even, the measure of difference…Conroe is a stellar defensive team, and.The Woodlands is a strong offensive team;

Set 1:

Conroe senior, Kendra Butler, and Jazzmin Kim, a sophomore joining the varsity, had 4 kills apiece. Libero Blakea Nettles (Jr) had 5 assists, and Logan Magee (Jr) followed with 4. Nettles also had 5 digs, and Ally Herrera (Sr), the smallest member of the team, came up big with 6 digs and an ace. Four others had 9 digs, for an amazing 20 digs in all, which sustained volleys and denied points, but 9 errors kept the score from being closer.

On the other side of the net, The Lady Highlands came out firing on all cylinders with kills being just about evenly dispersed among seniors Hailey Reier and Anna Bella Pinton, and several others each contributing one. Colby Quinn (Sr) added an ace to their scoring firepower. The set ended 25-16.

Set 2:

Conroe’s defense continued to come up with the big blocks; three had 2 kills apiece (Kendra Butler (Sr), Neena Brenson (Soph), and Victoria Ratcliff (Soph), Kim and Nettles had 4 and 3 digs, and Herrera had another big set with 6 assists and another ace.

TWHS’s Hannah Hickman(Sr) was on fire with 6 kills to her credit, and Reier, Pinton, and AJ Koele (a Sophomore joining the varsity squad), added two kills each. Reier and Mia Primavera (Jr) each scored with an ace, in addition to being the major contributors in digs.

Although they took the lead at 16-15, another 10 errors resulted in an ending set score of 25-18.

Set 3:

The Lady Tigers sharpened their claws in the third set, found a fix for the errors, and continued to showcase their balanced defense with Ratcliff contributing 3 kills, and Kim and Jozey Rodel (Soph) each with two, while Magee had 5 digs, and Herrera and Courtney Nettles (Sr.) added three each. Keeping it close and taking the lead mid-way, this was their most competitive set.

The Woodlands demonstrated their defensive skills too, with five players in double digits in kills; A.J. Koele leading with 3. Reier and Primavera kept even with digs, but The Lady Highlanders aced this set with 4...2 from Hannah Hickman, and 2 from Skylar Scott, another new Sophomore on varsity.

If not for the errors in the earlier sets, this district game could have gone the distance, but it ended in three, with the score of the third set 25-22.

Conroe’s Assistant Coach, Brittanni Hanna, said they have a young team and they’re constantly making improvements. (See video.)

Conroe acknowledged that there’s room for improvement as per Ally Herrera (Sr.), Conroe’s standout player of the game with 2 aces, 9 assts, and 10 digs.

“We still have things to work on like making less errors,” said Herrera. “It was our first time running our modified defense...we gotta get our serves in and lessen our mistakes in order to get those points.” (See also Herrera’s video.)

Both teams demonstrated balanced defensive skills, but the Lady Highlanders ability to score on serve and strength on offense, gave them the competitive advantage. Opportunities for improvement?

“Conroe definitely brought some things to us that we haven’t seen yet. They were a great blocking team, and they pushed our offense” said TWHS Head Volleyball Coach Terri Wade. “We really haven’t seen another opponent that go that many touches on the block.”

Coach Wade, indicated in the video that they’ll have to prepare better for the block...which Conroe’s team excels in.

The Lady Highlanders’ sophomore, Sophie Walls, had a huge game with 35 assists, and 7 digs. Senior, Hannah Hickman, demonstrated that she was the consummate all-round player with 10 kills, 3 digs, and 2 aces.

Recap:

Conroe had 2 aces, 26 kills, 23 asst, and 44 digs

The Woodlands had a total of 7 aces, 40 kills, 40 asst, and 54 digs

Conroe will host another tough district rival, Oak Ridge (22-4), September 15. Oak Ridge swept Kingwood in three sets tonight.

The Woodlands will play at Atascosita (13-11) also on Sept. 15.

The next time these two meet in district play, look for Conroe to play five sets like they did in Set 3. In the meantime, expect to see The Woodlands continue their winning streak.

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