PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Lady Badgers head coach Tracey Myers (center) can't bear to watch during Tuesday's match against Marble Falls. Lampasas committed 23 unforced errors in the match, falling to the Lady Mustangs in three sets. Winning is difficult enough.

Overcoming unforced errors makes the task nearly impossible.

The Lady Badgers learned this lesson the hard way on Tuesday against Marble Falls.

Lampasas' varsity volleyball team committed more than 20 unforced errors in a three-set loss to the Lady Mustangs, leaving head coach Tracey Myers disappointed with her team's lack of focus.

"They played really hard, and I was real proud of their communication," Myers said. "There was lots of effort, but we just committed too many unforced errors.

"All of a sudden, one [error] became two [which] became three, and through all three matches we had 23 unforced errors. You're not going to win when you have 23 unforced errors."

The Lady Badgers almost overcame the problem in the first set, trading points with the Lady Mustangs for most of the set before falling behind 22-15. After scoring five consecutive points to pull within two points at 22-20, Madison Morris' kill sailed long and opened the door for a three-point run by Marble Falls that clinched the set 25-20.

In the second set, Lampasas continued to struggle, and the Lady Mustangs took full advantage by building leads of seven, eight and 10 points before claiming the set 25-12.

"They dropped their heads in the middle of the second game," Myers said. "The errors kept coming, and they weren't really doing anything to correct it."

Marble Falls scored the opening six points and 10 of the final 11 points in the third set, posting a convincing match-clinching 25-11 win.

Despite the errors and the outcome, Myers was pleased with her team's overall defensive effort.

"I thought we played great on defense," the coach said. "Every now and then we had a little miscommunication, but it was a lot better than we've been doing on the back row."

Another bright spot during the match was the play of Morris, who delivered a handful of scoring kills while thwarting several Marble Falls scoring opportunities with well-timed blocks.

"Madison [Morris] has been hav- ing some great games for us," Myers said. "She's a sophomore, but she doesn't play like one.

"She's aggressive, she likes to hit the ball, and she's doing a lot better for us on the back row."

The loss dropped the Lady Badgers to 0-4 in district play. Their next opportunity to grab a victory comes tonight when Killeen travels to Bozarth-Fowler Gymnasium for a 6:30 p.m. start.

***

Prior to the varsity squad taking the court, the junior varsity team rallied from an early 11-4 deficit to win its match against Marble Falls in two sets (25-18, 25-12).

Following a timeout, Lampasas completely turned the first set around, as it climbed out of the seven-point hole by scoring 10 unanswered points.

In the second set, the Lady Badgers JV clinched the victory with a 12-1 run.

The freshmen bounced back from a loss to Lake Travis last Friday, winning their match versus the Lady Mustangs in two sets (25-16, 25-17).