By Taylor Tompkins
The Hays High Lady Rebels fell to 19-12 after losing a district match to Alamo Heights in three sets.
The Lady Rebels could not bridge the gap Friday in any of the three matches, losing by a deficit of at least nine in each set. Alamo Heights took the first set 25-9, the second 25-14 and the third 25-16. Hays fell to 1-2 in district play with the defeat.
“Alamo Heights is just good,” said Hays head coach Erica Walthers. “We knew they were fast. We knew they were going to run their middles a lot. We knew what to expect. I am proud of our girls because they played hard, but they (Alamo Heights) are just a really strong team. That’s all I can say.”
Walthers said senior outside hitter Sydney Paradeaux would be healthy enough to play to her full potential next week. Paradeaux, who played libero in the game against Alamo Heights, had 13 digs and 10 serve receptions.
Paradeaux said playing libero was an adjustment for her.
“We didn’t get used to the rhythm,” Paradeaux said. “When we play them again, we’re bringing fury.”
The Lady Rebels had 21 hits on the game with a hitting percentage of .036. Junior Shannon Park led the team with 11 kills. The team had 18 total attack errors on the match. Hays had 30 total kills in match against Lockhart three days before with only five errors.
“We didn’t have a great hitting night,” Walthers said. “We had a lot of errors that would have made it a closer match.”
There were six aces in the match, two each from junior setter Kathryn Wristen and senior middle blocker Melanie Harrington.
The Lady Rebels had four serve receive errors during the match. The team had five assist errors. Wristen led the team with an average of seven assists per set.
Hays had no blocks on the match against Alamo Heights, which had three players with 10 or more kills on Friday, according to heightsvolleyball.com. Hays has an average of 1.2 blocks per set on the season.
“They just kind of picked us apart,” Walthers said. “They’re quick. We talked a little bit about we should have hit the floor for some more balls. There’s a few things we could have done a little bit better obviously.”
Alamo Heights is 6-2 against Hays in district play and are ranked 36th in the state. Hays is ranked 94th in the state and 27th in division 4A.
“Other than (defense and serve receive) we did good,” Paradeaux said. “I thought we fought.”
Walthers said the Lady Rebels take matches such as the loss against the Mules and learn from them.
Clemens has fewer than half of the number of kills Hays has on the season. The Lady Rebels have more than twice as many digs, successfully received serves and aces than Clemens during this season.
