The Rockdale Lady Tigers fell on the road to the Little River-Academy Lady Bees 22-25, 13-25, 17-25 during 19-3A district play.
“There is no way to sugar coat the evening,” Rock-dale High School Head Volleyball Coach Jennifer Keen said. “We just didn’t show up to play.”
The Lady Tigers were lead by senior Kaylee Criswell at the net with nine kills. Senior Reese Weise had 18 assists. Junior Payton Miller had 14 digs, and seniors Reyna Gonzalez and Kylie Eubanks had nine and seven digs respectively.
“We just haven’t played well since district started.” Keen said.
Over the weekend Keen said she reflected on what the team’s expectations were and made changes, which they implemented in Monday practice.
“There has just been no fight in our games,” she said. “I absolutely believe we should end this season first in district because we are so talented.
“It’s going to be a tough week with Troy and Rogers on the road, but hopefully we are ready,” Keen said.
On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the Lady Tigers swept the McGregor Lady Bulldogs 25-18, 25-7, 25-21, bouncing back from their first district loss against the Lexington Lady Eagles the previous Friday.
“We did a better job passing this evening,” said Keen. “We were able to run some different offenses with our hitters.”
The Lady Tigers offense opened up the net for hitters like senior Ryanne Young to get 10 kills. Criswell and senior Lyndsey Kolar both had eight kills in their win against the Lady Bulldogs. The senior hitters had plenty of help from Weise and Miller, who had 18 and 17 digs, respectively. Weise also had 30 assists.
Results for Tuesday’s match against Troy will be in next week’s issue of the Reporter.
The Lady Tigers play their next match on Friday, Sept. 28, in Rogers against the Lady Eagles.
RHS vs. Academy
Individual leaders
Kills: Kaylee Criswell 9, Kylie Eubanks 4, Reyna Gonzalez 3, Andrea Salzar 2, Lyndsey Kolar 2, Ryanne Young 2, Reese Weise 1, Anna Harmon 1, Payton Miller 1.
Assists: Weise 18.
Aces: Gonzalez 2, Emily Depine 2, Weise 1, Kolar 1.
Digs: Miller 14, Gonzalez 9, Eubanks 7, Depine 5, Kolar 3, Weise 2, Young 1.
Junior Varsity
JV2 did not play in Academy on Friday, but JV1 won in two close sets 25-23, 25-23 against the Lady Bees junior varsity. “The junior varsity really pulled together and fought for this win,” Keen said. “Averie Hobbs and Mariana Casarez are really proving to be vital parts of our program, and it’s wonderful watching them improve game by game.” “Jena Locklin did a great job passing and was great defensively,” Keen said. “I’m really excited for the future of this program,” she said. The Lady Tigers junior varsity volleyball team is currently 2-3 in district, and play their next game against Rogers.
RJH game summary
8A lost to Franklin 25-20, 23-25,11-15 “The Lady Tigers struggled to find consistent passing and dropped the match,” said Coach Regan Fritsche. “The team had 13 kills on the night.”
8B won over Franklin 25-18,25-22 “The 8B team proved to show that serving and communication is key in being successful on the court,” she said. Top preformers for the Lady Tigers were: servers – McKenna Lopez, Grace Avrin; defense – Aaliyah McBrewer and offense – Mijah Crawford and Bridgett Grady.
7A lost to Franklin 13-25, 22-25 “They were unable to find a rhythm, so the Lady Tigers fell to the Lady Lions,” said Fritsche.
7B lost to Franklin 9-25,9-25 “The Franklin Lions serving proved to be too much for the Lady Tigers,” she said.
8A won over Academy 25-17, 26-24 “The Lady Tigers played well defensively and offensively to get the win over Academy.” Top pre-formers: Emma Whitsel, Yolianna Castillo and Julie Bartsch.
8B Lost to Academy 21-25, 25-17, 9-15 “The Lady Tigers could not find a way to get past Academy Wednesday night and dropped the match.”
7A lost to Academy 25-23, 14-25, 10-15 “The Lady Tigers struggled find a passing groove in the game and dropped the match.”
7B lost to Academy 30-29, 18-25, 9-15 “The Lady Tigers struggled as a team serving in the game and lost the match to Academy.”
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