Hawks Set New Tradition on the Back-Bone
Paige Bower getting her point across. (Picture by Karen Holmes)
By Karen Russell Holmes
Canyon Lake varsity volleyball headed across The Backbone once again to face the Wimberley Texans, Friday night, that sent the Texans packing for new territory.
In the first match the Lady Hawks stormed the court quickly dispatching the score to a 10-4 lead. Alysha Perez came into the game and immediately spiked her way to bring the score to 11-5. The Texans only had one player with the kind of height usually seen in Wimberley, but she was quickly shut down by Hawk blockers, Anna Bettersworth and Paige Bower.
The Hawks executed all aspects of the game well with Regan Mickey steadily playing her
Don’t Forget Homecoming is right around the corner & Go Hawks
positionand placing tips into Wimberley’s open court. Spikes from Faith Hasness, Anna Bettersworth and Landry Hollums went undefended to drive the score to 16-9. Hasness spikes caught the Texans off guard as she crammed the ball straight down the sidelines. Wimberley tried to hit open court on the Hawk side only to find Sam York there with a dig. York’s protection of the center court brought the score to 20-10.
The first match ended with a 25-12 win for the Hawks.
The second match was a repeat of the first as the Hawks immediately sunk their talons into the Texans. Paige Bower got the crowd going with her spikes and they quickly reminded Wimberley that she was only a sophomore with their cheers. Wimberley continued to a very scattered game seeming not to know their positions well and serving the ball out of bounds. The Hawks’ back row obviously practiced supporting the blockers because seldom did a ball fall to the ground after a missed block. Savannah Cox and Amber Voight were evidence of this practice along with York. That kind of support from the back line kept the Hawks in the lead.
Junior Faith Hasness Hasthis!
The second match placed the Hawks on top again and Wimberley was never given a chance to lead. The Texans struggled and did not appear to be the volleyball war machine they have been in the past.
“I tell the girls that they have to be humble,” Coach Kim Paisley said. “You must respect the opponent no matter what their tradition has been.”
Winning decidedly with a 25-12 victory, the Hawks put Wimberley away for the second match.
At the beginning of the third match the crowd certainly thought they would be going home soon, but Wimberley took the lead fast and ran the score up 4-1. The Hawks rallied back and went ahead 5-4 on the serves of Voight. Riley Mickey entered the game and blocked for another Hawk point next to her sister Regan. Coach Paisley continued to play her bench, but no combination of players seemed to gel to take the Hawks to a solid lead.
“In the third game I was giving everyone a chance to show up,” Paisley said. “Show me you’re ready to play.” She explained that the third game wasn’t about winning but giving all her players the opportunity to show her if they were willing to give it their all.
The Hawks lost the third match 18-25.
The fourth match was definitely Hollums’s match. Though the Hawks started behind losing ground quickly with a 0-3 score, the Hawks won the service back and Bettersworth went to work bringing the score to 7-8. Then a Hollums tip tied the score 8-8 and she added a spike to finally give her
Go CL Hawks Volleyball
team the lead 9-8. Wimberley called for a time out trying to break the Hawks’ momentum, but Hollums continued to power spikes over the net for an 11-8 score. The Hawks continued to build their score and Hollums served up the 15th point leaving Wimberley with only 10 points on the scoreboard. Wimberley gained another 4 points, but did not go unanswered by the Hawks as they ran their points up to 20 with another Hollums spike. Bettersworth then stuffed a spike from Wimberley and the score spread further to 21-14. Along with Hasness’s spikes and Hollums work at the net, the Hawks sewed it up with a 25-18 win.
“I was excited and ready to get it done and over with,” Hollums said of the fourth game. She said that the team has been working on consistency in their play and running and conditioning has kept them from wearing out before the opponent all apparent in this game against Wimberley.
The Lady Hawks play again with another home game next Tuesday when La Vernia comes to the Hawk Nest.
Game Leaders: Hawk wins 25-12, 25-14, 18-25, 25-18 Kills: Landry Hollums 12 Assists: Regan Mickey 33 Digs: Sam York 25 Aces: Amber Voigt 2 Blocks: Anna Bettersworth 3
