Considering the competition, Nacogdoches Lady Dragon volleyball coach Ben Belshaw came away pleased with his team's performance in a three-game match loss to Lindale.
Nacogdoches gave Lindale a scare at times before falling to the visitors 22-25, 17-24 and 15-25 at Dragon Coliseum Friday.
Photo by Christy Wooten |
NHS Iyesha Williams sets the ball during Friday?s game against Lindale.
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Nacogdoches (13-24) fell to 4-5 in 14-4A. The Lady Dragons already have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2003. They will advance to the post-season as either the third or fourth-place team.
They play Henderson in Henderson Tuesday. A win will force a playoff with the Lady Lions for third place. Should Nacogdoches lose, the Lady Dragons will take fourth.
Lindale, a team in a battle with Whitehouse for the District 14-4A championship, showed its superiority at the net with kills and by picking up digs. The Lady Dragons also had their share of unforced errors.
"Last time we played them, we scored more than 10 points one time," NHS coach Ben Belshaw said. "They are a high-quality team. We played them much better and did some good things."
After the game, six Lady Dragon senior players were honored as part of "Senior Night." Playing their last home game of their careers were Jessica Oswalt, Candace Chatman, Latifah Williams, Christina Cook, Allison Lathan and Chelsea Leeder.
In his second season as coach, Belshaw said he was fortunate to have the six players for two seasons.
"They're going to be missed," he said. "They have set the foundation for us to have a successful program. The younger kids in the program look up to them.
Leeder had a strong game against Lindale, registering 13 kills.
Junior Chandler Johnson added 15 digs, and sophomore Dedra Stearn added 12 digs.
Freshman Charity Page had two blocks. Junior Ally Harris and Cook each had eight assists.
Kevin Gore's e-mail address
is kgore@dailysentinel.com.
