Lady Stangs complete rally for come-from-behind victory

So even after the Lady Mustangs trailed, 0-2, to Killeen High School Oct. 3, Robertson still emphasized the importance of a killer instinct and not allowing outside forces to rattle her squad.

In the end, Marble Falls won against Killeen, 20-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-13.

“When we went in there, we knew this was a game we had to take,” she said. 

Before the start of game three, the coach gathered her players and told them to relax and play.

“Obviously you came here to play five,” she recalled. “You have to be the team willing to go five and win long rallies.”

As the third game began, Robertson saw a positive change in her squad.

“We were progressively getting better,” she said. “We had the momentum, and we kept running with them. We passed so well, it made it easier to relax. Our serve-receive did a bang-up job.”

In preparation for the match, the Lady Mustangs spent most of last week working on serve-receive and passing. Robertson said it paid off.

“My passers were averaging 2.1 percent,” she said. “The match before, it was 1.53 percent. That’s a huge improvement.”

At match point, Kelly Hacker served an ace, but the officials called screening on Marble Falls and awarded the point to Killeen. 

“It was unbelievable,” Robertson said. “He could have changed the outcome of the game.”

The coach said that ruling marked the first screening call against Marble Falls of the night and her players did not do anything different during the match. 

With a second match point, Marble Falls received the serve, made a good pass and spiked the ball, which was dug.

Lauren Persyn used a soft block to end the match.

“That was the most excited my kids have been,” Robertson said with a laugh.

Part of the obstacle during the match was the change in officials. Killeen uses a different chapter of officials than the ones the Lady Mustangs encounter, Robertson said.

“I coached in that chapter before,” she said. “Even before the match started, I told my players to play better than the officials. The officials seemed so one-sided, it got more intense to play. It seemed to make them angry.” 

Killeen was a solid team, Robertson said. 

“This team took (Pflugerville Hendrickson) to five games,” she said. “They were very athletic.”

Persyn led the squad with a season-high 12 kills. Kimberlin Ackerman added two blocks. 

“She’s our block leader,” Robertson said. “She did a good job.”

Chelby Lusinger had 17 digs. 

“I made a switch between games one and two,” the coach said, adding Lusinger did not become a libero until the conclusion of the first set. “They were willing to do it. Chelby did a good job switching from defensive specialist to libero and passing really well.”

Morgan Wellinghoff had four aces, which is a career high. 

Hacker had 28 assists.

“We need her there every game,” Robertson said. “Going five games, it’s easy to get that many. She’s getting better. She still sometimes uses the dump as an emergency.” 

The coach said she can see her players maturing.

“They are finally getting down and playing each point for what it is,” she said. “We’re playing every point. Their volleyball mindset is more mature. This is exactly what we needed going into Lampasas.”

Marble Falls will travel to face the Lady Badgers today and will go to Hendrickson Friday. Both matches are at 6:30 p.m.