CL Hawks Volleyball Lose to Sealy Tigers
Canyon Lake’s Volleyball season came to a close last Thursday in Smithville when the upstart Sealy Tigers took a bite out of these Hawks, 25-22, 25-22, 27-25.
“This was a tough battle from the very beginning,” Head Coach Kimberley Paisley said. “We did not do a good job of executing and did not go downside well.
The Hawk’s ‘Bucket List’ year has come to a close as this three set match seemed like a five set affair with Sealy looking just better than this Hawk club.
Sealy opened play with a 7-2 lead, when CL had a tying six point serve and tied game at eight all.
Addison Farley was called on on that rally as she responded with four kills to help in bring the Hawks back into the game.
After another mini run by the Tigers, CL could not get closer than two points, when they fought back to a 21-23 score.
This sequence would be the same story same verse for the remainder of the next two sets as CL did find themselves with their biggest lead in the second set, when they raced to an 8-3 lead and matched that lead again when they had an 11-5 lead moments later.
Sealy would slowly pull back when they tied the Hawks at 15 a piece. This set would be tied seven more times when both teams were tied at 22 all.
A CL service error left the Hawks in a hole and their second loss by the same score as the first set.
Canyon Lake and Sealy battled back and forth for that whole third set as both teams could have changed jersey’s and each fan base would not have known the difference. (except the parents and coaches)
Five lead changes and 15 ties would tell the story on this set.
Canyon Lake largest lead was three points (12-9), while Sealy largest lead would be the final score, 27-25.
The Hawks finished their final game with seven service errors and with a game played by teams that were this equal in ability, that was enough for also calling this CL’s last game of the year.
A year where this group of athletes gave countless hours on the hardwood and worked from a team that did not qualify for the playoffs or a winning record the year before to a team that made a mark by winning 31 games and getting that proverbial bucket as full as you could without spilling your accomplishments.
The Hawks will be saying good-bye to several Seniors who helped in setting a foundation for many year’s to come, as other CL teams will be looking at their records in that bucket to see if they too can top this lofty goals reached this season.
On what is next for Canyon Lake? “We get a little break and then we will start doing things as last year,” Coach Paisley said exhaustively. “We will be grinding in the off season….they (this team) came a long way and we have grown since last year…all of our players did a good job of stepping up this season.”
On what happened in this set and what do you do next? “We needed to stay mentally tough and we just did not finish,” Junior Addison Farley said matter of factly. “I will start club play in two weeks.
Lillie Sander was a rock all year as the middle blocker and then an injury near the end of season sidelined her play.
“We just fell short,” Senior Sander said after playing her last game. “We just had too many communication errors.”
On what she would like to say to the team that is coming up, “I wish them the best of luck and I know they will do great!!”
Another Senior that played anything and everything that Coach Paisley asked for was Mariah Ellis.
On what her thoughts on the game just played. “They were good,” Ellis said. “We did not play to our potential and our mental game led to a lot of our missed serves.”
On what Ellis would like to instill for next year’s team, “Defense is super important and always be excited about the game and don’t look back.”
Excited was what this team gave many fans this season and now Canyon Lake will attempt to build more houses on their foundation that was set this year.
Good Luck Hawks and thanks for a Great Year!!
Game Leaders: Kills: Addison Farley 13, Bailey Drum 12 Aces: Hannah Wunderlich 3 Assists: Regan Mickey 31 Digs: Hayley Melone 20, Bailey Drum 19