BAY CITY – The Taylor High School varsity volleyball team had plenty of action this past week as the Lady Ducks traveled to Rogers High School last Tuesday for a match and Aug. 17-19 for the Tournament on the Bay hosted by Bay City High School.
TAYLOR LADY DUCKS
The Lady Ducks lost a heartbreaker on Aug. 15 on the road at Rogers as Taylor nearly completed a huge comeback. Despite losing the first sets 24-26, Taylor stormed back and took the next two sets from the Lady Eagles 25-19. Unfortunately, the comeback attempt came up short as Rogers was able to survive the five-set thriller as Taylor lost the fifth set 12-15.
“We struggled to find a rhythm, made way too many service errors and had a hard time gaining momentum with a lot of unfortunate calls not in our favor,” Taylor first-year head coach Rylee Davis said. “Not our best game and we're working on the mental aspect of it so that can never happen again.”
Taylor certainly picked things up over the weekend as the Lady Ducks went 4-2 in Bay City. The Lady Ducks had victories over Tidehaven High School, Palacios High School, district rival Smithville High School and Marble Falls High School. Taylor senior Hannah Wamble, senior Ansley Reed, junior Haley Harms and sophomore Makenna Watson made a huge impact throughout the weekend.
Although a match loss, Davis was very impressed with how her girls competed against Burnet High School. The Lady Ducks won the first set 25-22 but were defeated 15-25 in the second set and edged 12-15 by the Lady Bulldogs in the decisive third set.
“The girls had a blast,” Davis said. “It was so much fun to watch them off the court just as much as on the court. We ended up second in the silver bracket and Hannah Wamble received an all-tournament team selection. They took care of a lot of teams really well, battled with Burnet who has left a sour taste in their mouth after the playoff loss last year and took them to three sets. We play them next week at home, and I hope they bring the same battle and intensity because it was a fun game to have a sideline view of.”
Taylor will host Granger High School on Tuesday night, travel to Rockdale High School on Aug. 24 and 26 for another varsity tournament and then home on Aug. 29 for a rematch vs. Burnet.
HUTTO LADY HIPPOS
Hutto High School volleyball was able to string together a trio of victories over the weekend when the Lady Hippos competed in the Pflugerville ISD Varsity Tournament. Under first-year head coach Jessica Martinez, the Lady Hippos picked up match victories over Georgetown East View High School, Pflugerville Connally High School and Austin McCallum High School. Hutto is consistently getting great play from junior Isabella Orton, senior Charlize Williams and senior Cori Babb as the Lady Hippos try to string more wins together before the start of district games.
The Lady Hippos’ volleyball squad will next travel on Aug. 24-26 to compete in the Forney Invitational Varsity Tournament.
GRANGER LADY LIONS
Granger volleyball started off last week’s action with a bang as the Lady Lions went on the road Aug. 15 and knocked off Rockdale High School in a five-set thriller. The Lady Lions took a marathon first set 30-28, fell 21-25 in the next two sets, won the fourth set 25-23 and sealed the match in the fifth set with a 15-12 victory.
Following match losses last Thursday and Friday to Central Texas Christian School and Milano High School, the Lady Lions head a few minutes down south Tuesday night for the match with Taylor and then Aug. 24 and 26 will also compete in the Rockdale Tournament.
ST. MARY’S LADY RAMS
The St. Mary’s Catholic School varsity volleyball team under head coach Traci Zimmerhanzel has its first home match of the 2023 season Tuesday night as the Lady Rams host Central Texas Christian. They will also travel to McDade High School at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 for a non-district matchup with the Lady Bulldogs.
