The inability to stop a potent Leander Lions offense hindered the Lehman Lobos in a 25-11, 25-14, 25-6 loss Tuesday at the Lobo Den.
With the defeat, Lehman (4-17, 0-7) suffered its seventh straight defeat in district play. But for Lady Lobos head coach Kathryn Legh-Page, a focus on continued improvement is the goal as they near the end of the 2017 campaign.
“We’ve got to compete and improve our scores every time we play,” Legh-Page said. “As long as we’re improving our scores, we’re getting better all around.”
Lehman tasted a bit of that success during the second set. Leander (11-16, 3-4) built a 14-8 lead in the set before the Lobos stormed back.
Lehman used a 6-2 rally to cut the Lions’ lead to 16-12 midway through the second set.
Aiding the cause was the play of Sarah O’Neal, who led the Lobos with a team-high four kills and scored one and a half blocks in the match. Joining O’Neal was Faith Dierschke, who finished with a team high six assists.
Lego-Page said O’Neal is one of the team’s leaders on and off the court and said she’s adjusted to more of a role in the middle of the court.
“She naturally is a right side, but she’s stepped up for us in the middle,” Legh-Page said. “She’s done a great job of adjusting to it and adjusting to taking on that role.”
Lehman also capitalized on adept serves as well. Kaytlin Mendoza finished with a team-high four aces in the match. Legh-Page said assessing the defense, and trying to disrupt them, helped the team find success in serving.
Taking a smarter approach to hitting was also key for a Lehman team that was undersized.
“It’s about using our block to our advantage and taking to our hitters,” Legh-Page said.
But Lehman couldn’t sustain enough momentum to keep a run going.
Big runs, however, weren’t a problem for Leander, which used them to gain separation from the Lobos in each set.
Leander junior Riley Cotton and senior Mackenzie Catalina both finished with a match high 10 kills apiece. Pilar Gonzaba tallied 48 assists in the course of the match.
Leander closed the second set on a 9-2 run. After building a 5-3 lead in the third set, Leander exploded for a 17-0 rally to put the Lobos away.
Despite the defeat, Legh-Page said the team showed improvement from its first match against Leander, and that players have come a long way.
“We can do it. We can compete. As long as we’re having fun, then we’re competing a lot,” Legh-Page said.
Lobo MJ Vega finished with four digs, while Mak Arzola had a half-block.
