Staff Report
GARLAND – Wimberley Texan dreams of a volleyball state title were dashed Saturday as the team’s quest for the program’s seventh gold medal in the last 25 years fell just one win short.
Fourteen kills from Jentry Lamirand and ten kills by Trinity Vinzant were more than enough for the Decatur Lady Eagles (31-1) to score a 25-13, 25-12, 25-19 win over the Wimberley Texans in the Conference 4A state final at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Wimberley (30-5) quickly fell into a 19-9 first set hole as Decatur took advantage of various Texan errors on the court. Altogether, Wimberley suffered eight errors in the first set and finished with 18 total errors in the match.
Decatur kept momentum into the second frame as it built another 19-9 advantage aided by play from Lamirand, Vinzant and Kaylee Peterson, as well as several more Texan errors.
But the Texans fought right back in the third frame as they kept the match close early on, guided by the play of Paige Crawford and Holly Harwood. Crawford finished with a team high eight kills with Brina Jones collecting seven kills. Harwood scored five total kills in the match.
However, Decatur’s offensive prowess proved too much as the Lady Eagles, who had a .459 attack percentage in the final frame, slammed on the gas pedal to close the match. As a team, Decatur’s offense had a .340 attack percentage on the night, while the Texan offense struggled, hitting only .075.
Wimberley’s Jordan McFarland finished with 11 assists while Rhyan Masur had 26 digs. Decatur collected six total blocks while the Texans finished with four.
Saturday marked the Texan volleyball program’s tenth trip to the UIL state volleyball tournament since the 1998-99 season. It was the first time the Texans had reached the state tournament since 2010 and the first trip under head coach Stephanie Barthels.
