CLJV Volleyball in First Place after Win over Wimberley
Kaylie Duke, Alysha Perez, and Hannah White showing what a 1st Place Smile looks like after win over Texans
The Hawks have another first place team in Volleyball as CLJV won their game with Wimberley in three sets, 21-25. 25-21, 25-16 as a precursor before the Varsity game.
“We just started attacking at all the places on the court,” Head JV Coach Megan Helmey said. “Our defense was good and on their toes all night.”
“This was obviously a big game,” Coach Helmey continued. “And once we realized their weakness we finished well and we took it to a new level after that first game.”
This win was a roller coaster ride as each team had multiple rallies like a see/saw ride. Or, maybe a Fiesta Texas roller coaster, you get the idea…there was not a lead that would be considered safe, especially in that first set.
First Set CLJV Texans Game Tally Rallies 3 3-0 Hawks 2 6-1 Hawks 4 6-5 Hawks 5 12-7 Hawks 7 14-15 Texans 4 21-17 Hawks 7 21-25 Texans
CLJV had a safe 21-17 lead and then Wimberley responded with a game ending 7 point rally to take set one.
Y4 Custom Homes supports the 1st Place Hawk’s JV Volleyball Team
Hannah White displayed some great defense during this first set while also being at the serving line for 7 Hawk points as she finished this set with 4 serves only to see the Texans come back with a rush.
That would usually give the average roller coaster person a weak stomach but the Hawks would rebound in that second set and rush out to a 11 point lead, 24-13.
“After the first set we had our biggest grind and we were just too relaxed,” White explained. “Coach wanted to try something different and I started playing Libero after that first game.”
Then the Texans would end with another 7 point rally to end the set before a service error gave Canyon Lake a chance to tie and play that final set.
Last week, CLJV had a listless first set to finally rally against Navarro and now that same scenario would present itself for the Hawks and a chance to claim a first place spot for this season.
Canyon Lake had a 18-16 lead when Perez took her rightful place at the serving line and then the Hawks proceeded to score the next 7 points just like Wimberley had in the two previous sets to win it all, 25-16.
Freshman Riley Mickey started that deciding set with 3 points which helped set the stage and put Wimberley on the defensive.
The Texans would inch their way back into the match and took the lead 13-10 and that was when CLJV would take control of the game and win going away.
Mickey was the catalyst in this final onslaught with a 4 point rally as Alysha Perez helped with two kills during that serve.
Perez is one of the shortest players on this JV squad but she also has a jumping skill set that allows her to get elevation and finish her shot anywhere on the court.
“I keep taking my time and I don’t want to rush it and just wait for those certain spots,” Jumping Jack Perez said. “In finishing the game, we just deserved it and got it.”
On what she is thinking as she looks for her opportunity to get a kill, Perez contemplated, “Occasionally I look when the set is tied and I will go for a kill…..but sometimes you need to cover after you hit it.”
Perez was talking about those times a Texan would get a block on her hit and how she would react in keeping the volley alive.
The Hawks would outscore Wimberley, 16-4 while turning this back and forth affair to a romp when Perez served those last 7 points.
Junior Kaylie Duke was instrumental during this rally as she had two kills with that final one closing the game out for the first place Hawk team.
“We were trying to kill the ball but because they are really smart they were playing good defense,” Duke duked it out. “We were not going to let them win so we just stepped it up and we said it was just time to finish.”
The pipeline for CL is starting to get entrenched as freshman to senior players start to up their game as this season starts the final lap in district play next week.
A plethora of Hawks were active in getting kills and that too has to help in getting opposing teams headaches as they will have a hard time defensing the CL offense.
Kills in this 3 set match: Alysha Perez 10 Kaylie Duke 8 Zoe Edwards 6 Felicity Niestemski 4 Paige Bower 4 Riley Mickey 1
“We are in first now and beat our biggest rival,” White closed eloquently. “This was our best win for this season.”
Well said, Go Hawks!!
