Total domination across the board led the Hays Rebel volleyball team to sweep the Akins Eagles in a 25-7, 25-4, 25-11 on parent night Tuesday at Bales Gym.
The win improves Hays to 16-16 on the year and 2-0 in district play.
“It’s all about defending home court, and giving your opponent your best game no matter what,” Hays head coach Ashely Davis said. “They (Akins) played hard. I just think that we were on tonight. Really on tonight.”
Hays’ 19 total aces over the three sets controlled the flow of the match as the Eagles struggled to return serve to keep up with the Rebels’ consistent attack. Hays’ junior Brooke Sheely led the team with eight total aces, including a six ace first set that set the tone for the rest of the night. Senior Ryann Torres continued the torrid run with a six ace second set, while also having three kills on the night.
“I think that we were pretty consistent with our effort, and just having in the back of our mind go hard and kill the ball every single time,” Torres said about the Rebels’ play. “Make three passes every single play and on every single free ball. I think on our side of the court we did awesome.”
Strong outside hitting helped the Rebels, as the team had 25 kills against the Eagles. Hays senior Reagan Casey led the charge with eight kills in the match, with senior Sydney Collins adding six kills and junior Madelyn Krafka having four of her own.
“We were just trying to run a faster tempo offense, just trying to stay in control and try and move the ball around,” Davis said. “Just trying to keep them guessing. We have a pretty balanced attack, which is nice. You don’t always have that. We can really run anybody at anytime. I mean even a couple of our back row kids got some swings in.”
With the dominating performance early on, Davis went to her bench for the second and third sets. Getting valuable playing time in district play for key reserves was good to see, Davis said, as it can be tough to play an entire lineup in some matches.
“It was nice to be able to play our whole team,” Davis said. “Thankfully we do have a lot of depth, and sometimes it’s interchangeable. So that’s what’s nice. Sometimes kids ‘two and three’ are just as good as one. That’s fun obviously.”
A 2-0 start in district play is just what Davis and the Rebels sought as they build confidence heading into the heat of their district schedule.
“It’s really just staying strong through round one, so that we catch a lot of people on the backside in round two.”
The Rebels will look to remain undefeated in district play as they travel to play at Lake Travis (21-11) Friday.
