LADY TIGERS DEFEAT LADY LEOPARDS IN 4

The determination to win is the better part of winning.

Vickie Willis had a game-high 24 service points as Texas High defeated Liberty-Eylau, 25-21, 18-25, 26-24, 25-21, in a volleyball match at Tiger Center on Friday.

“They were really determined to win this game and not to let anything hit the floor inside of those lines,” Texas High head coach Melissa Hardy said.

Tied at one set apiece, Texas High came out and won the momentum-clinching third set. Treyaunna Rush, who finished with 24 kills, put down four kills to help earn the last four Tigers’ points in the set.

Chealsea Slider made a game-high 39 assists, while Asia Williams had 28 digs and 19 service points for the Tigers.

“I think there were a lot of high points,” Hardy said. “Overall, the girls did a really good job of coming back and fighting for it.”

Maya Polley led Liberty-Eylau with 12 service points and had six blocks. Polley had six kills, while Chelsea Fagan nailed down 13 kills for the Lady Leopards.

“There were moments in the match where they were hitting and we weren’t,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Dawn Stewart said. “You can’t dig yourself into a hole and expect to come out of it. We would get six or seven points down and when we rallied, it was just to tie the set.”

Texas High’s Kristin McDuffie slapped down 13 kills, while teammate Slider had 12 service points. Jessica Bilimek helped out with 14 digs and 11 service points for the Tigers.

Willis had three aces in the first set to go with her game-high 24 service points for Texas High.

Liberty-Eylau hit seven serves out, and four hits

went into the net, while the Tigers hit six serves out and five net serves.

Adrianna Byrd had 28 digs and three kills for the Leopards, while Rynesha Fort made 31 assists. L-E’s Taylor Crabtree served in 10 points.

Texas High committed 22 hitting errors, and the Leopards had 20. Both teams did well receiving the serve, as they made just 2 service-return errors each.

“We are growing; I have four freshmen out on the court,” Hardy said. “I have four seniors, but they are never on the court at the same time.”