By Moses Leos III
A powerful Seguin offense proved too much for the Lehman volleyball team, which succumbed to the Lady Matadors in straight sets (18-25, 9-25, 9-25) on Tuesday night. Lehman now falls to 0-4 in District 27-4A play.
Lehman tried to shake off being swept by Schertz Clemens on Friday.
It began well enough, as the Lady Lobos pulled out to an 8-5 advantage. Senior Aleeya Eskridge, who helped the Lobos gain a 9-8 lead, aided them on offense. Eskridge led Lehman with five kills on the night.
The lead was short lived. Seguin pulled even at 11-11, turning on the jets from there. The Lady Matadors outscored Lehman 14-7 to close the first set. They were helped by strong defense, with Crystal Luna’s game high 16 digs on the night.
From there, the Matadors steamrolled past the Lady Lobos. Seguin was never challenged in the second or third sets, comfortably cruising in both.
Seguin’s hitters gave Lehman issues, finding gaps in the Lobo defense. Lehman had trouble stopping Maykayli Franklin, who had a game high 10 kills.
“The balls were very well placed. They read around the block very well,” senior Haley Rohde said.
Eskridge said the team tried to stymie Seguin by focusing on hand placement at the net. That proved to be unsuccessful. The team then tried different strategies, to no avail.
“We tried to serve aggressively to keep them out of rotation, so they didn’t have a chance to hit,” Eskridge said. “We could’ve been more successful at that.”
Lehman head coach Megan Cooper was pleased with the effort in the first set. She tried to account for Seguin’s offense by changing alignment. However, Seguin thwarted the change.
She placed focus on working around size and speed limitations.
“I tried to keep them motivated,” Cooper said. “They know we are not the tallest or strongest team. So we need to be the smartest team. We are developing our volleyball IQ – that will help us in the second half of district, when we see these teams again.”
Not lost was the Lady Lobos spirit, as they fought and scrapped all evening. Junior Ofelia Negrete led the defense with six digs.
Yet, Seguin had the momentum, and the Lady Lobos were powerless to stop it.
“When a team goes on a run, it’s hard to stop them,” Rohde said. “We had a good first [set], then we switched sides, and they kept coming at us, and we couldn’t stop them.”
The Lady Lobos will try to rebound against Hays High on Friday. For Rohde and the seniors, this is one of two last shots to best their rivals.
The team knows they must play better to defeat the Rebels.
“We are prepared. We think we have a good chance of beating them – a better chance than before,” Eskridge said. “If we play our ‘A’ game, we’ll win. But we all have to come out and know we can do it.”
Lehman hosts Hays at Lobo Gym on Friday. Match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
