Lehman’s Ariana Gallegos gets ready for a kill during a loss to Smithson Valley. After winning their District 27-4A opener, the Lady Lobos have lost two straight. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
by MARK CAUL
The effort was there but unfortunately their best player wasn’t. As a result, the Lehman Lady Lobos’ unblemished home record came crashing down at the hands of powerful Smithson Valley High last week.
The Lady Rangers knocked off the Lady Lobos in three straight games (25-13, 25-11, 25-12).
With Lehman once again playing without Brazilian exchange student Mariana Filipi, the team’s leading hitter, the Smithson Valley duo of Nia Mody-Bailey and Kyndall Carter proved to be too much for the Lady Lobos to overcome.
Mody-Bailey led Smithson Valley with 14 kills while Carter contributed 13 assists.
Smithson Valley (19-10, 3-0 in 27 4-A), the number 2-ranked team in the Central Texas area, got off to a blazing start in the first set with Mody-Bailey setting the tone early with a couple of kills past the Lehman block of Arianna Gallegos and Imani Fairman for an early 3-0 lead.
The Lady Rangers quickly stretched their lead to 5-0 after a Lehman service error followed by kills from Macie McKay and Allison Titzman.
“We weren’t as sharp as we had been in our previous games at home,” Lehman head coach Gloria Sandoval said. “We made some early mistakes and they were able to take advantage of them.”
Lehman’s eight-game home winning streak that was snapped was an all-time record for the Lady Lobos.
Filipi, who was key in helping Lehman to a 12-12 start to the season, has been sidelined with an injury for the past two weeks. The Lady Lobos are hopeful she can return to the court soon.
The Lady Lobos went on to lose to Clemens on the road a few nights later in three games (25-21, 25-11, 25-16) with Fairman pacing Lehman with seven kills and a pair of aces in the contest.
After a non-district home tilt with Austin McCallum, the Lady Lobos will host archrival Hays on Friday. The varsity game between Lehman and the Lady Rebels is scheduled to begin on Friday night at Lobo Gym at 5:30 p.m.
