Lady Badger spikers swept by Marble Falls in district opener
By JEREMY HEATH Staff Writer

Kayli Arizpe

The Lady Badger volleyball team was "geeked up" for its District 25- 4A opener against Marble Falls.

Maybe a little too geeked up.

Communication problems and less-than-fluid play early contributed to a 25-21, 25-14, 25-22 loss to the Lady Mustangs Tuesday night at Bozarth-Fowler Gymnasium.

"I think they wanted it too bad," LHS head coach Tracey Myers said. "They were trying so hard because it was the first district game, and they wanted to win so bad. I don't think they were able to relax until the third game."

The Lady Badgers (8-11 overall, 0-1 in district) were coming off a 4- 2 finish at the Waco Robinson Tournament last weekend, but the consistent play that netted them a thirdplace finish didn't carry over into Tuesday's match.

After taking 9-6 and 10-7 leads in Game 1, unforced errors and defensive positioning problems allowed Marble Falls to catch up at 10-10.

The teams traded points to 15-15, but the Lady Mustangs went on a 6- 1 run to move ahead 21-16 and take control of the game.

The Lady Badgers fell behind 12-3 in Game 2 before Erin Laney, Allie Spivey and Shay Norris started clicking offensively and Kayli Arizpe began making defensive plays at the net. LHS pulled within eight at 21-13, but the nearly flawless setting of Marble Falls' Sara Obermeyer thwarted every LHS rally.

The Lady Badgers jumped out to a 9-3 advantage in Game 3 behind two service aces from Norris and another from Laney, but three LHS errors, a held ball call and two Mackenzie Tarter aces rallied the Lady Mustangs to a 9-9 tie. The teams traded points to 21-21 before the Lady Mustangs took control with a Kimberlin Ackerman kill and an LHS error.

The Lady Badgers are scheduled to play at Pflugerville Hendrickson in a district match at 7 p.m. today. Hendrickson (10-14, 0-1) was swept by Vista Ridge on Tuesday.

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JV sweeps Marble Falls: The LHS White topped the Lady Mustangs 25-17, 25-11, and the Blue tallied a 25-14, 25-22 win.

Junior varsity coach Debbie Mason said Mariah Jones and Kenzie Myrick had strong matches for the White Team, and Salina West and Christy Kettinger stood out for the Blue. Road Match

Tonight

The LHS volleyball team is scheduled to play at Hendrickson at 7 p.m. today.