Lady Lions struggle in tournament, regular play

The Lady Lions played in the Raggin” Rattler Volleyball Tournament last Thursday and Saturday. They played a total of six matches in the two days.
On Thursday in pool play the Lions opened up playing Del Valle.
Although they lost the first match, the Lady Lions came back to earn a victory in the second and third games, sealing the match. The final scores were 23-

25, 25-23 and 25-21.
After the Game One loss, the Lady Lions had a rocky start in Game Two. They were down 23-16 when Meredith Moore came up to serve and with some scrappy play from her teammates served nine straight points to win the game 25-23.
Overall the Lions were led by Kelly Witte and Camille Clay with 10 and eight kills respectively. Ashley Moore and Ashley Johnson each had 12 digs. Not only was Meredith”s serving outstanding she also led the team with 15 assists.
“[The Del Valle] match was one that neither team played up to their capabilities,” said Coach Jeff Witte.
In the second match of the day the Lions played the hosting San Marcos Lady Rattlers. The Lady Lions were not able to handle the play of San Marcos all-state candidate Jill Wolpmann, who Witte said played very well, handing out devastating kills and a topspin jump serve.
The Rattlers took the match in two straight games by scores of 25-17 and 25-19. Lockhart received three kills each from Witte, Natalie Raemsch and Brianna Hinnenkamp. Moore and Shelbi Henrichs each contributed four assists.
The third match Thursday proved to be the most exciting match of the day for the Lady Lions.
Yoakum provided the opposition as the Lions started out sluggish, losing the first game 25-13.
The Lady Lions came roaring back to take the next two games in extra points by scores of 28-26 and 28-26.
“After having lost the first game in devastating fashion I was real pleased with the character the Ladies showed in coming back to win games two and three,” Witte said. “It would have been real easy to fold up the tent after game one, but the Lady Lions refused to go down.”
K. Witte and Jenee Clay led the Lady Lions with seven and six kills. K. Witte also led in digs with 17, followed by Ashley Moore with 13 and Ashley Johnson with 12. Henrichs led the Lions in assists with 15 followed by M. Moore with eight.
After Thursday”s pool play, the Lady Lions were seeded fourth in the silver bracket and that is exactly where they ended up after bracket play on Saturday.
Saturday morning the Lions opened up bracket play against Sharyland from the Rio Grande Valley. This was the most exciting game the Lady Lions played the whole weekend and proved to be the best Lockhart played all weekend.
The Lady Lions dropped the first game of the match 21-25 and then came back to win the next two games 25-21 and 25-22.
“This was one of those games that I wish I could bottle up the enthusiasm and intensity that the Lions played with and bring it out each and every game,” Coach Witte said.
C. Clay led the attack with nine kills followed by K. Witte with six. She and Brianna Hinnenkamp led the defensive effort with 10 digs apiece. Hinnenkamp and M. Moore led the team with each contributing 16 service points. M. Moore also led the Lions in assist with nine.
As well as the Lady Lions played Saturday morning against Sharyland, things quickly went sour the rest of the day as the Lions lost in two straight games, 11-25 and 9-25 to 3A powerhouse Brazos , and then fell to 12-25 and 9-25 to former district opponent Pflugerville Connally.
“It is hard to understand how we can play so well against a very good Sharyland team and then come out and play the way we did against Brazos and Connally,” Coach Witte said. “Connally was the most athletic team we have played up to this point and very well may be the most athletic team we will face all season. Brazos is a school rich in volleyball tradition having won the 3A state championship before and being a perennial playoff team.”

Varsity vs. Bastrop
The Lockhart Lady Lions hosted Bastrop in a very intense match on Tuesday night. Bastrop swept the match in three games by scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 25-18.
Both teams really played hard with a lot of exciting plays from both sides.
“Our girls played real hard, yet I felt Bastrop picked up several more loose balls on hitter and blocker coverage than we did,” said Coach Jeff Witte. “They also hurt us with several kills to the deep left corner that we did not pick up.”
According to Witte, both teams were very aggressive in diving to the floor to pick up deflected balls.
Game One was played back and forth early on with each team having some runs of four or five points. The Lady Lions had a six point run spurred by six straight service points by Jenee Clay. Bastrop came back with a five-point run of their own and then finished the game with a four point run.
Ashley Moore led the offensive effort in Game One with four kills. Shelbi Hendrichs and Meredith Moore did an excellent job of setting the ball in areas for Lady Lion hitters to attack.
Game Two was an exciting game going back and forth with neither team being able to establish more than a three-point run. Players from both sides responded well in picking up deflections off of the blocks. Kelly Witte led the defensive effort by picking up nine digs. K. Witte and Camille Clay responded offensively with three kills apiece.
Game Three was just as exciting as the previous two with some outstanding play from both sides.
Natalie Raemsch led the offensive attack with six kills. There was some outstanding defensive play with Andrea Carter making a game-saving dig deep in the corner to keep the Lady Lions in the game. Miriah Carter had an outstanding game for the Lions playing in the middle. Brianna Hinnenkamp and Ashley Johnson played an all around good match.
Overall the Lions were led by Raemsch with seven kills and Ashley Moore with six. K. Witte led the team with 6.5 blocks followed by Raemsch with six.
K. Witte led the team with two aces and 17 digs. Henrichs had 13 assists to help lead the offensive effort.
The Lady Lions opened district play this week when they hosted the 12-ranked Hays Lady Rebels on Tuesday evening. On Friday, they will travel to New Braunfels to face the defending state champions, the top-ranked Unicorns. In addition, they will participate in the Rebel Bash Volleyball Tournament on Thursday and Saturday at Hays. Check next week”s Post-Register for the full results.