Lions varsity volleyball team falls in playoff matchup

The Lockhart Lions varsity volleyball team fell to the Hendrickson High School Hawks 25-9, 25-20 and 25-12 last week, knocking them out of the first round of the playoffs.
The loss gave the Lions a 10-12 overall record on the season, with a 10-7 record in district play.
Head Coach Terry Lambert said his first season as coach was still a success despite Tuesday’s loss.
“I look at it as a success and the team looks at is a success,” said Lambert. “There were a lot of seniors who graduated [last year], and it was getting labeled as a classic rebuild.
“We didn’t look at it as a rebuild. We looked at it as, ‘Look, we’re going to continue the status quo and try to push up. Playoffs were certainly a goal and playoffs were certainly doable, so we weren’t going to back down from it. The one thing we still have to overcome is getting past that first round [playoff game].”
Lambert said next year’s squad will bring back a lot of talent with only seniors Mikaela Leyva and Bella Franco graduating this year, but he noted they still have plenty to work on moving forward.
“We really have to have a little more production on the third contact,” said Lambert, noting someone would also need to step up as the team’s main setter due to the loss of Leyva.
“We’ve got some talent on JV and freshman that are possibly going to battle for those spots, as well.”
Looking toward the offseason, Lambert said his team would have to roll with any COVID-19 related punches like they were required to deal with at the beginning of the season.
“Going into the season, every day was an unknown,” said Lambert. “Our Schedule was torn apart 1,000 times.
“If you would have told me back in July that, ‘Hey, you’re going to get all the way through the whole season with no COVID issues on your team or in the district,’ I would have said, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
Ideally, Lambert said his players would focus on strength and conditioning after the holidays until Spring training begins in March.
“Whether COVID permits that, we’ll take in a case-by-case basis,” he said, noting she’s looking forward to the challenge. “We want to beat the teams like Hendrickson that are very powerful that beat us, so that’s going to be the next phase of growth from there.”

By Wesley Gardner
LPR Editor

The Lockhart Lions varsity volleyball team fell to the Hendrickson High School Hawks 25-9, 25-20 and 25-12 last week, knocking them out of the first round of the playoffs.
The loss gave the Lions a 10-12 overall record on the season, with a 10-7 record in district play.
Head Coach Terry Lambert said his first season as coach was still a success despite Tuesday’s loss.
“I look at it as a success and the team looks at is a success,” said Lambert. “There were a lot of seniors who graduated [last year], and it was getting labeled as a classic rebuild.
“We didn’t look at it as a rebuild. We looked at it as, ‘Look, we’re going to continue the status quo and try to push up. Playoffs were certainly a goal and playoffs were certainly doable, so we weren’t going to back down from it. The one thing we still have to overcome is getting past that first round [playoff game].”
Lambert said next year’s squad will bring back a lot of talent with only seniors Mikaela Leyva and Bella Franco graduating this year, but he noted they still have plenty to work on moving forward.
“We really have to have a little more production on the third contact,” said Lambert, noting someone would also need to step up as the team’s main setter due to the loss of Leyva.
“We’ve got some talent on JV and freshman that are possibly going to battle for those spots, as well.”
Looking toward the offseason, Lambert said his team would have to roll with any COVID-19 related punches like they were required to deal with at the beginning of the season.
“Going into the season, every day was an unknown,” said Lambert. “Our Schedule was torn apart 1,000 times.
“If you would have told me back in July that, ‘Hey, you’re going to get all the way through the whole season with no COVID issues on your team or in the district,’ I would have said, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
Ideally, Lambert said his players would focus on strength and conditioning after the holidays until Spring training begins in March.
“Whether COVID permits that, we’ll take in a case-by-case basis,” he said, noting she’s looking forward to the challenge. “We want to beat the teams like Hendrickson that are very powerful that beat us, so that’s going to be the next phase of growth from there.”