The first home match of the season wasn’t sweet enough for the Lehman Lobos volleyball team Tuesday.
A furious rally to start the third set couldn’t keep the Lobos rom succumbing to a 20-25, 20-25, 18-25 home opening loss to the Akins Eagles.
Despite dropping the team’s fifth straight match in a row, head coach Kathryn Legh-Page said the team is still learning to gel and find its chemistry.
“It’s a situation where we’re still trying to find our chemistry. We’re going to get it,” Legh-Page said. “Believe it or not, this is still early in our season. We have to find how we connect together, slowly but surely.”
The Lobos worked to get the ball to Sarah O’Neal, who provided the lion’s share of Lheman’s offense.
Lehman tried to keep pace with Akins and kept the sets competitive. But the Eagles had just enough to edge out the Lobos for the final few points.
Legh-Page said the Lobos were attempting to read their hits and focus on their hitters. Down two sets, however, Legh-Page sought to motivate her squad.
“I told them to go all out, they had nothing to lose,” Legh-Page said. “They just had to put it all on the court and they had to fight back for it.”
The Lobos responded by sprinting out to a 12-9 lead early in the third set. Lehman’s struggles in keeping the offense in sync allowed Akins to rally right back.
The Eagles went on a 6-3 run to tie the match at 15-15. Akins plowed ahead and outscored Lehman 10-3 down the stretch to win.
While struggles are apparent, Legh-Page said the Lobos are continuing to progress through the season.
Two weeks ago, Lehman claimed third place in the bronze bracket at the Austin ISD tournament. During the preseason tournament schedule is where the Lobos hope to find their team and “who mixes with who well,” Legh-Page said.
Lehman plays in the San Marcos ISD tournament this weekend, which is then followed by the Hays Rebel Bash Aug. 31 and Sept. 2.
But getting the team ready for its Sept. 8 district opener against Leander is the plan for Legh-Page as well.
“We’re already doing our homework for teams we’re going to play in district,” Legh-Page said. “We can only control what we can do. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s getting down into the grind.”
