In one of the most memorable matches in recent program history, first-year head coach Rylee Davis and the Taylor High School varsity volleyball team willed their way to a stellar comeback victory at home against Burnet High School.
“While I am new, I have been told by so many parents how much that win meant for the program,” Davis said. “Burnet was a tough team, who was much taller and arguably more physical at the net than us. The girls have been talking about their rematch with Burnet just about since I got here. After Burnet took our girls out of playoffs last year, they really felt like they had something to prove, and the fact that they managed to go down 0-2 and pull themselves out of it to reverse sweep them in 5 sets. I think that proves right there the type of mentality we're starting to build for this program.”
Despite the Lady Ducks being edged by the Lady Bulldogs 22-25 and 23-25 in the first two sets, Taylor took the next three sets 27-25, 26-24 and 15-9 for a stunning victory over Burnet.
“After our second set, we talked about whether we wanted to give up and go home early on a Tuesday night, or if they wanted to fight even though statistically the odds were against them,” Davis said. “Every single one of them decided to fight. I hope that the win on Tuesday proves to everyone who we are and what this program is heading towards.”
Lady Ducks seniors Hannah Wamble and Ansley Reed played a pivotal part in Taylor being able to turn this match around vs. Burnet and get the job done down the stretch.
“I think those two have done a phenomenal job of buying into what we're preaching and it's really working out for them,” Davis said. “They both hate to lose so much and they're both very coachable kids. In tight situations, it's very typical to not want to be the one who makes the mistake, so when we started getting timid in the third set and the score was tight, we started tipping and sending easy balls. It caused a few errors which we couldn't afford late in the game. I pulled Hannah aside and told her to be confident and swing because she had been scoring all night doing that, regardless of the score.”
This volleyball program is definitely headed in the right direction and Davis is very happy based on what she’s seen so far with her players.
“I genuinely don't know how to express how proud I am to be coaching this group of kids,” Davis said. “Every single one of them has their own skill set and on-court personality that they bring, and it just keeps getting stronger. They have improved so much since last season, and I cannot wait to see how they continue to progress in the next few months.”
After the Lady Ducks’ home match on Friday vs. Rockdale High School, Taylor will have one more non-district road match at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Austin Hyde Park High School.
