By JASON GORDON
The Hays volleyball team scored one of its biggest regular season wins in the program’s history Friday night when the Lady Rebels knocked off Boerne Champion.
Champion, the No. 2 ranked team statewide in the Texas Girls Coaches Association poll, took game one from Hays but after that it was all Lady Rebs. Hays drove away from Boerne with a 22-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-17 victory.
As a result, Hays moved up to No. 13 in this week’s TGCA Class 4A poll.
“This is no question the best I’ve seen us play since I’ve been here,” said Hays’ fifth-year head coach Erica Walther. “We showed such great teamwork on the court and we never let up on them once we got the lead.”
Sydney Paradeaux had 29 kills and an amazing .491 kill percentage on her 53 attempts. She also had 12 digs, five aces and four blocks.
“Sydney played an incredible match,” Walther said. “It seemed like she was everywhere on the court.”
It certainly wasn’t a one-person show for Hays as Hannah Ramsey had eight blocks, 11 digs and three aces, Natalie Valdez had seven kills, and Kathryn Wristen had 33 assists and 10 digs.
“Every one of our players had to come up big for us to earn the kind of win we did tonight,” Walther said. “This is the kind of play I thought our team was capable of all year long.”
Hays improved to 3-0 in District 27-4A action with the win. The Lady Rebels (18-13) have now won eight of their last nine matches. Champion fell to 21-7 overall and 2-1 in district play.
“I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about our team having a let down after a victory like this,” Walther said. “They are hungry and they want to keep improving. I still think there’s room for us to get better and I know our players believe that too.”
Wristen agreed with her head coach.
“Beating Champion definitely boosted our confidence and showed us we could play at the level our coaches have been wanting us to play at all season long,” Wristen said. “We expect to keep working hard as we make our way to the playoffs and hopefully to state.”
Hays’ Dezaray Garner said there’s no question Friday night’s victory was important.
“Any win is great, but a win against the No. 2 team in state makes it that much sweeter,” Garner said. “We now know we can not only play with great teams like Boerne Champion, but we can win. Now we just need to stay focused and approach every game with the same intensity.”
Hays is at Alamo Heights Friday night and will return home Tuesday against Clemens as District 27-4A play continues. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
