Lady Stangs qualify for the playoffs
Almost two weeks ago, the Marble Falls High School volleyball team had a chance to eliminate Killeen High School from playoff contention with a win at home.
However, the Lady Kangaroos won that night in straight sets.
After the two teams tied for fourth in District 25-4A, they took to the court for a play-in match Friday.
The result was a Lady Mustangs win, 25-17, 25-12, 24-26, 25-22.
“I’m just really proud of the girls,” head coach Mich Robertson said. “This is what they worked for. It’s a great win for them. That will help us believe in ourselves Tuesday.”
The reward is playing Dripping Springs, the District 26-4A champion, 7 p.m. Tuesday at Johnson City.
The Lady Mustangs will return to the postseason for the first time since 2004.
Marble Falls dominated the first two games thanks to solid passing and a stingy defense.
“Our passing was at a 2.1 percent,” Robertson said. “We passed lights out. In games one and two, we had several blocks. We covered the block well. Those (Killeen) kids are big.”
Kelly Hacker had three, while Lauren Persyn added two and Corrine Coffey had one.
Second, the Lady Mustangs picked up their tempo on offense, which often led to kills without much of a block.
“We ran a very fast offense in games one and two,” Robertson said. “We slowed our tempo in games three and four.”
To their credit, the Lady Kangaroos did not go down without a fight, the coach said.
“We had to step it up and want to win,” she said.
Setter Hacker was able to set up hitters to blockers easier because the passing was on target, the coach said.
“Kelly had good ball distribution,” she said. “Hacker made some smart choices tonight.”
Kimberlin Ackerman, Persyn and Coffey each had six kills. Hacker had 25 assists.
Chelby Lusinger had 19 digs, while Taylor Cameron added 16.
Lusinger recorded four aces, while Hacker had three.
Marble Falls had 17 missed serves.
“More than anything we just have to focus on getting our serves in,” Robertson said.
In the second match, the Lady Mustangs felt pressure to win following the loss almost two weeks ago, the coach said. But they did not compete that way Friday.
“They didn’t play tight,” she said. “They played with confidence.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com