“We are a pretty good serving team most often, so we anticipate to have some success there,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said. “I thought we missed some early but then they started to put a little more pressure and make sure that they were going in and putting the pressure on them. They had some goals to achieve tonight and they achieved those goals, so obviously they reacted to that and provided good energy from the sideline and made the game lots of fun.”
Ladycat senior setters Kailey Hamilton and Sophie Frank served six aces apiece while junior libero Karsyn Evans added five of her own. The Ladycats had a lofty goal before the match began and it helped fuel the team’s mastery from behind the service line.
“We play bingo in our matches, which means we have different goals for different positions and black out the board as we hit those goals,” Frank said “So, Karsyn Evans decided to put 15 aces on there. We weren’t really sure if we could get that, but we got 17 for the first time. I don’t think anybody was really thinking we could reasonably do that, but we did it with our teamwork and supporting each other. I don’t think that would have been possible without all of the support. We have other spots on the bingo board with position-specific stuff, like, tips to a specific spot, being able to pass up a certain tip from the other team, dump sets – just all different things. Our reward is really just better play. It’s a fun way for us to hone our skills.”
Frank hit a late flurry of three consecutive aces to help close out the third and final set of the match that Aledo won by a final score of 25-13, 25-13 and 25-12. Beyond the brilliant serving, Frank and Hamilton distributed the ball well to their hitters with an even offensive performance across the board while Evans and Bella Bechert passed the ball well when the team was operating out of system.
“To keep them challenged is important. I talked about it in there with the girls, and they (setters) spread the ball around the offense really well,” Gay said. “I was proud of our setters moving the ball around as much as they did, and that the rest of the team took the swings when they were able to take the swings. I thought we did a good job with allowing a lot of people to score points – you want that. You can’t be a lopsided team and not see a lot of success from all your players, especially this late in the season. You’ve got to feel balanced and you’ve got to get the opportunity that everybody else to have confidence in those moments.”
Hamilton noted the improved dynamic at the net and how the quicker offense continues to operate more seamlessly as the season has progressed, largely in part to feedback from the hitters along with consistent execution. From the service line, positive energy has fueled the reps and technique the players have perfected in practice.
“We have to focus really hard and play like it’s a game, and the support of the teammates with everybody just working together fuels us,” Hamilton said. “Just finishing with your hands strong and just focusing really hard on executing your serves is all you can do.”
With everybody getting involved in the action, the playmaking became contagious and abundant.
“It really builds up the momentum. Whenever we’re all in a good mood together, it makes us all play better all around – my sets are better, peoples’ passes are better, the swings are harder and straight to the ground and the block is up,” Aledo senior setter Sophie Frank said. “Everyone is just working in sync as we get more momentum, so that’s the most important part.”
Aledo served seven of its 17 aces in the first set with Evans recording four in the frame. When Saginaw crept within a point at 10-9 in the second set, star junior Kaelee Berkley turned the tides with a loud kill out of the middle. From there, Aledo put together a 7-2 run that included two more thunderous kills by Berkley and stretched the advantage to 17-11, forcing a Saginaw timeout call in the process. After that, a block by senior middle Lily Lufkin proceeded three straight aces by Hamilton to push the lead to double digits, which Aledo did not relinquish. Star senior Alyssa Todd, Brynleigh Snyder, Savannah Thompson and Evie Revard each chipped in up front throughout the third set, and Frank served four of her six aces in the final frame.
Berkley led the charge with six kills while Thompson and Lufkin had four kills apiece. Lufkin produced two blocks as well while Schneider added two blocks of her own to go with three kills. Todd added three kills and 10 digs while senior middle Karsyn Trott had a pair of kills and a block. Frank had 11 assists, six digs and six aces while Hamilton tallied nine assists and six aces. Evans recorded a team-high 12 digs to go with five aces.
The Ladycats swept Saginaw across the subvarsity programs as the JV (25-7, 25-13) and ninth grade A team (25-7, 25-5) swept their respective matches.
The Ladycats will go for their 13th consecutive win at 5 p.m. Friday at home against Fossil Ridge as Aledo celebrates its Homecoming Night.
The Ladycats stepped outside of the district for a Thursday night match on Sept. 18 that saw Aledo’s 11 seniors honored with bragging rights at the dinner table on the line with the Class 4A Brock Lady Eagles (21-8) coming to town.
Ladycats head coach Claire Gay faced off against her husband, Nick’s, Brock squad and the two teams provided a high-quality match for both fanbases. In the end, though, the wife was right as Aledo pulled away for a four-set win by a final score of 25-11, 16-25, 25-21, and 25-10.
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