Things began to look bleak for the Lady Dog volleyball team as Schulenburg had a 19-7 lead midway through the third set Monday night at Smithville in their regional quarterfinal playoff game.
THS fought for every point to win the first set 25-23 but had trouble containing the Lady Horn hitters and middle blockers to lose the second set by the same exact score.
Schulenburg went on to lead 2-1 after the third set, but Thorndale regained momentum in the fourth to bring the match to a fifth and final set.
However, it was the other team that prevailed, winning the tiebreaker 15-9, and ending the Lady Dogs 2021 campaign.
“I knew they were really good and that they were a seasoned team,” coach Angel Raines said. “So we knew that we’d have to play our butts off and at the end of the day, it just kind of is what it is.”
Despite the unwanted outcome to Monday night’s game, Raines had many compliments for her players, whom she holds in high regard.
“I can’t say enough about these girls,” she said. “I love them. From the start of the season, we looked really bad to be very honest and from then to now, their growth has been substantial.”
“They’re more to me than just volleyball players and I really care about them,” Raines said.
The Lady Dogs lose Saryn Peel and Makayla Lafferty to graduation, who Raines said she first had as students in her sixth-grade English class.
“We’ve been through a lot in the classroom, in our personal lives and they mean a great deal to me,” she said. “I’m really thankful that they’re mine and I’m really going to miss them.”
FUTURE—Unlike many of her past teams at Thorndale, which she said typically had five or six seniors, the 2009 THS grad will have plenty of experience returning to the floor next fall.
“There’s a lot of pressure on our younger players and they are rising to it,” Raines said. “Emily Reeves is going to be a beast and so is Kassidy Eubanks. Then there are my juniors like Abby Dickerson, Landri Martinka and, of course, Kyndal Robinson, I can’t say enough about that girl. She’s our go to, our workhorse and a lot of our leadership.”
“I’m super thankful for all of them,” she said.
Raines also spoke highly of Natalie Garcia, Kinley Meadors, Hadley Meadors, Makaelyn Vivas and Natalie Newton, who were all huge contributors to the success of Lady Dog volleyball this year.
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