Lady Leopards fall to North Lamar

TEXARKANA, Texas — North Lamar gave LibertyEylau all it could muster in their district match.

The Lady Leopards fell to the Lady Panthers in three sets, 25-9, 28-26, 25-13, Wednesday night at the Rader Dome in varsity volleyball action.

“We’ve been preaching about us playing a full game,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Lacey Middlebrooks said. “We want to play a complete set. That’s what we’ve been talking about, finishing sets strong.

“We told them we have to be more consistent. We may have to change our rotation with players but we’re still working hard. We’ve been doing some different things. That’s all I can really ask of them.”

North Lamar built a early cushion and created points off Leopard hitting errors.

The Panthers grabbed a 14-5 advantage over the Leopards with Emma Doyal at the serve line. Doyal slapped in six points from the line, five of those points came off Leopard hitting blunders.

Tanara Norris led the Leopards in the set with with three kills and four points.

The Panthers slapped in five consecutive points to take the set and district contest from the Leopards.

“It starts with your relationship and chemistry on the court,” Middlebrooks said. “Off the court, they’re all really good friends but on the court we’re still learning each other’s tendencies. That comes with practice and more reps. That’s just where we’re at.

“We’re flipping people around, so we can get to know each other a little more. They’re doing everything we’ve asked of them and they’re doing it well. It’s just a bit of a process.”

Liberty-Eylau captured it’s first lead of the match in the second set.

The Leopards swapped points with the Panthers throughout much of the set. L-E biggest lead was by two points, while Ja’Kai Ray was at the line. Ray slammed in six points from the serve line.

Both squads held long rallies throughout the set, swapping points until the Panthers forced two consecutive Leopard hitting errors, taking the set, 28-26.

North Lamar built a early lead to open the match, 10-2, behind the serves of Maliyah Holbrook.

Holbrook accounted for 12 points at the service line for the Panthers.

The Leopards were unable to regain control of the set, falling to the Panthers on consecutive hitting errors.

Staff photo by Kelsi Brinkmeyer ■ Liberty-Eylau player Cameron North prepares to block the ball as a North Lamar player hits the ball over the net during their match hosted by L-E on Wednesday in Texarkana.

Staff photo by Kelsi Brinkmeyer ■ LibertyEylau player Ja'kai Ray hits the ball over the net as North Lamar players attempt to block it at their match hosted by L-E on Wednesday.