By JASON GORDON
The Hays volleyball team has rebounded in stellar fashion after losing a heartbreaking five-set match to Boerne Champion two weeks ago.
The Rebels avenged a loss earlier in the season against Alamo Heights on Tuesday, and also picked up wins against Lockhart and Seguin to improve to 26-15 overall and 11-2 in District 27-4A. The Lady Rebs , who are ranked No. 25 in the state in Class 4A, will wrap up the district season with a game at Lehman Tuesday night.
Hays has only lost one game in the three matches since falling to Champion on October 9.
“I’m very proud of the way we responded after the loss to Champion but I expected nothing less from our team,” said Hays head coach Erica Walther. “They have been a resilient, tough group from day one.”
Hays swept its way to easy wins over Lockhart (25-15, 25-19, 25-12) and Seguin (25-13, 25-11, 25-10) and beat Alamo Heights in four hard-fought games (25-22, 22-25, 29-27, 25-21).
Hays could easily be undefeated in district play. The Lady Rebels only losses this season in 27-4A action have been five-set defeats at the hands of Heights and Champion.
If Heights beats Tivy on Tuesday and Hays wins at Lehman, it would create a three-way tie for the district title. The three teams would then play each other again for playoff seeding.
Against Alamo Heights, Sydney Paradeaux had 16 kills, and Natalie Valdez and Hannah Ramsey added 13 and 11 kills respectively. Paradeaux had 17 digs and Courtney Willcox had 15 digs for the Lady Rebs. Kathryn Wristin added 43 assists and 11 digs, and Dezaray Garner had 13 digs in the key win against Heights.
“We’re playing some of our best volleyball of the season right now,” Walther said. “That’s exactly where you want to be heading into the playoffs. I think we’re starting to peak at the right time and I’m expecting big things from our team in the postseason.”
