Volleyball: Ladycats top Sandies in four-set slugfest

Sometimes, it takes a good talking to in order to get back on track. The simple message, “Let’s play volleyball!” spoke volumes to the Ladycat players during a timeout during the third set, where No. 1 Aledo trailed 10-5 in the third set after splitting the first two with the No. 11 Amarillo Sandies in their regional semifinal clash. After assistant coach Natalie Gonzales put the team on notice during that pivotal moment, the Ladycats played with spice and an edge, using fiery determination and playmaking to turn the tides of the match. In the end, Aledo emerged from Vernon High School with the win Friday night by a final score of 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, and 25-23.

“We came into Set Three and we were down and we felt a little bit sorry for ourselves, and we became internal – you can’t play an internal volleyball game,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said. “So Coach (Natalie) Gonzales has done a really good job of hyping these girls up, and she’s just really good at calling it out when things need to be called out. That’s the beauty of a staff when you can rely on all five coaches to step in and make comments that really just absorb into the girls. I felt like at that point, that was a great turning point and props to Coach Gonzales for helping us in that situation, because we recovered really well.”

The Lombardi speech was not on the original prescription for Aledo, but it worked better than medicine and supercharged the Ladycats’ defensive efforts while helping them rediscover their collective offensive prowess – especially out of the middle.

“Hearing that, I think we all collectively just locked in together, and it really put me in a mindset that I just want to go after it, stuff them and get plenty of kills, too,” Ladycats senior middle Lily Lufkin said. “I was super ready. I love playing teams that are also good and ready to fight, and it just makes me play better and have some fire in me.”

While the Ladycats got the sound production they’re accustomed to from their star outside hitters, senior Alyssa Todd and junior Kaelee Berkley, senior middle blockers Lufkin and Karsyn Trott were instrumental in the turnaround victory. Lufkin, a defensive middle, and Trott, an offensive middle, both provided plenty of kills and blocks alike for the Ladycats and were go-to players against a big, physical Amarillo front line.

“Our middles stepped up really big and became very offensive, which was something I don’t think that they were expecting,” Gay said. “We still have work to do to keep us balanced, I think our outsides are going to be scouted really hard and that everyone’s going to be prepared for them, so it’s going to take everyone at this point to be successful. They’re going to have to make super smart decisions and it will truly take everyone to win.”

It took a plethora of players and their production to get over the hump in a fun, intense environment inside of Vernon High School. Aledo and Amarillo exchanged the lead multiple times in the first set, and Aledo had to dig deep as they progressed into the opening set. Todd thumped a kill that concluded a 4-0 run to tie the score at 19-all. When Amarillo surged ahead 23-21, Aledo did not back down. Instead, the Ladycats engineered a beautiful 5-1 closing run. Berkley pounded a kill off high hands before an Amarillo net violation tied the score at 23-23. Following an Amarillo point, Berkley delivered another clutch kill before Aledo junior Payton Patrick put away kills on successive points to end the opening set in favor of Aledo.

Aledo held a four point lead late in the second set but ended up falling by two, and the Ladycats trailed by as many as six points in the third set before Gonzales fired up the players with her fiery speech.

Lufkin and Todd produced back-to-back blocks followed by kills from Brynlee Schneider and Trott. The resurgent run resumed with kills by Berkley that tied the score at 13-13 and Patrick terminated again from the outside to put the Ladycats ahead 14-13. Amarillo called a timeout to try to stop the bleeding, but Aledo’s momentum burned brighter instead of being squelched. Aledo nursed its lead from a dose of kills from Berkley, Patrick, and Todd, with Todd’s latest kill giving Aledo a 20-17 lead. From there, Todd and Lufkin posted blocks for Aledo’s 21st and 22nd points, followed by back-to-back kills by Berkley. The set ended via an Amarillo hitting error.

Aledo rode the high tides of emotion and energy into the fourth set, building a 20-12 lead along the way, but Amarillo was able to close the gap quickly with a 10-1 run that put the Sandies in front 22-21. Despite the surprising run, Aledo settled in and regrouped. Lufkin nabbed a timely kill to tie the score at 22-all, and she struck again from the middle to knot the action at 23-23. After that, Todd served an ace before Berkley put away the decisive kill for the 25-23 win.

Berkley led the way with a scintillating, energy-filled performance. From one-handed digs to powerful kills, she produced 16 kills, 23 digs, two blocks, and one ace. ACU-commit Todd starred in the match with 12 kills, 24 digs (team-high), two aces, and one block. Lufkin impressed with six kills and four blocks while Trott excelled with 10 kills and five blocks. Patrick played a huge role for Aledo with seven kills, five digs, and a block while Schneider was strong up front with five kills, six blocks, and four digs.

Senior setters Sophie Frank and Kailey Hamilton distributed the ball well throughout the match. They tallied 23 assists apiece while Frank finished with 12 digs and Hamilton had 11 digs and an ace. Kenley Hamilton recorded 14 digs, two assists, and an ace while junior libero Karsyn Evans added 22 digs and four out-of-system assists.

“It means a ton. It’s a lot, it feels great and I’m just ready to go even further,” Lufkin said. “We want to win it all.”

Despite the thrill of victory, the team knows the rest and the best are yet to come, and the Ladycats will work to sharpen their craft ahead of their biggest match of the season.

“We recovered and had a great lead in Set Four, and then here we go again, and I had to call two timeouts with the same server on the line – that’s the problem,” Gay said. “We don’t want to be in those big pendulum swings at this point in the season. We need to learn how to side out quickly. It’s the best teams at the end of the year, and it was a good exposure for us in a lot of ways. We will go back to work on Monday and prepare for Birdville. It’s going to be a battle for Region One, and then hopefully it works out for us to advance, but we’re going to have to work and play a lot more consistently than tonight. No one is going to give us very much at this point, and we need to remember that as a team and as an offense.”

The Ladycats (40-3, 12-0) will face Birdville (28-9, 9-3) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center for a spot to represent Region I in the Class 5A Division I state tournament.