High energy and a crushing outside attack carried the Lehman Lobos volleyball team to a lopsided 25-17, 25-12, 25-9 Tuesday sweep of the Northeast High (formerly Reagan) Raiders at the Lobo Den.
“It was a great momentum builder,” Lehman head volleyball coach Karen Young said. “We are getting closer to district, so it’s good to see everything starting to come together. We have the rhythm now, the consistency is coming along. We are doing really well, proud of them.”
A back-and-forth first set had four lead changes between the Lobos and the Raiders before Lehman went on an 8-point run to take a 17-11 lead. The momentum from the run carried the Lobos to a 25-17 first set victory, energizing the team and halting early jitters.
Lehman maintained momentum into the second frame when they jumped out to a 16-6 lead over Reagan. Strong outside hitting and limited errors ultimately guided the Lobos to a 25-12 set two win. Budding confidence carried over into a dominant 25-9 third set win for the Lobos, which capped off the sweep.
Young said high confidence in the second and third sets played a role in success for the Lobos.
“Our timing is on, a lot of great passing. It was a total team effort,” Young said.
As a team, the Lobos dominated with an attacking offense and great serving. Through the three sets Lehman had 26 kills to Reagan’s three. Eleven of Lehman’s kills came in the second set alone.
In addition, the Lobos had 11 aces overall compared to only three by the Raiders. The dominating offensive attack was big step forward for Young.
“Thats a big thing for us as a team,” said Young. “Just making sure that we attack every single time the ball comes over. We have to have an attack instead of just a free ball. In emergency of course you have to have that free, but we just need to make sure we attack each time.”
Senior Ariana Sanchez led the Lobos with eight kills for the match, including five straight kills in the third set.
Juniors Teanly Dominguez-Hernandez and Isabella Mantilla contributed five kills each.
For Young, the most impressive part of the match was the consistent energy that the Lobos had throughout all three sets. It has been a team goal of theirs to compete with that type of energy every game and Young was impressed by the confidence and poise the Lobos played with.
With only a few more non-district games left before district play begins, Young said she wants the Lobos to carry this confidence and energy into their upcoming matches.
“Attacking and consistency,” Young mentioned as something the team needs to keep working on. “That consistency to attack the ball every time the ball comes over.”
Lehman starts district play on Aug. 30 on the road at Austin Akins at 6:30 p.m. The Lobos host Del Valle at home Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
