VOLLEYBALL: Lady Cavs defeat A&M Consolidated in three sets

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Woodlands College Park High School volleyball team took on A&M Consolidated at home on Tuesday, August 25. The Lady Cavs were more than ready to play and would go on to defeat A&M Consolidated in three sets: 25-19, 25-15, 25-23.

After falling to Cy-Fair in their home opener, the Lady Cavs came back rearing to go on their home court. With lots of new faces on the varsity team, the difference a week has made for College Park is quite substantial, as the team looked in sync and everyone worked together, making a win that much easier for College Park.

After being unable to play for a week, College Park’s number one setter, senior Hannah Erwin, was back in action Tuesday night and gave the Lady Cavs their first point on the board with a kill in the first set. The teamwork displayed from the Lady Cavs was phenomenal from the beginning. Although the Lady Tigers had an early lead, College Park had kills from Emily Ross and Erwin to help bring the score to a tie, 9-9, and after a great kill from middle blocker Linzy Woods, College Park took the lead, 10-9, and will not allow another lead from A&M Consolidated in the first set. After some errors from the Lady Tigers, College Park was soon up by eight points, 20-12, when a timeout was called. The Lady Cavs were on a roll, however, and after more kills from Kennedi Smith and Audrey Penn, tied in with great defense, College Park easily took the first set, 25-19.

Set two seemed just as easy for the Lady Cavs, as a kill from Smith gave College Park the first point. A kill from Woods, two more kills from Smith and a great block from Woods and Erwin give the Lady Cavs a four-point lead over A&M Consolidated, 9-5, forcing them to call a timeout. It didn't slow College Park down, and Smith was on fire as she garnered kill after kill after kill. Erwin did an excellent job setting up her teammates for great attempts, as well as a great defensive effort from Savannah Rutledge. Woods got another kill to give the Lady Cavs a 22-15 lead, and when Smith once again gets a kill, it is match point for College Park. A&M Consolidated hits the ball out, and the Lady Cavaliers take the second set, 25-15

The third set was a little shaky for College Park compared to the previous two, and A&M Consolidated wasn't about to go down without a fight. Although the Cavaliers had the first three points on the board, two of those were from kills by Erwin, the Lady Tigers start to creep up on the Lady Cavs and both teams are soon neck and neck. One team would take the lead until a tie, and then the other team would creep ahead. This remained a pattern throughout the set as it was tied up 7-7, again at 8-8 and at 9-9. College Park continued to make errors as there seemed to be some miscommunication on their side of the court. College Park calls a timeout when the Lady Tigers are up 14-10. The Lady Cavs slowly start to make a comeback as the Lady Tigers are the ones who begin to make errors. After an amazing spike by Smith, the score is tied up 17-17. After a bobble from College Park, A&M Consolidated is back in the lead until an Erwin kill ties it up again, 20-20. Erwin once again stands out and has two tips into the Lady Tigers’ side of the court, and the two teams are soon tied 23-23. College Park rallies together, however, and after a kill from Smith (yes, another), the Lady Cavs have match point and are able to pull it off and win the set, 25-23.

Although a close third set, the Cavaliers defeated A&M Consolidated 3-0 in the non-conference match. College Park volleyball head coach Candice Collins was more than happy with her team’s performance, with the exception of the third set.

“The overall match I think we played really well,” said Collins. “I think we kind of let up in the third set and that was a little disappointing, but overall, I told the girls that they showed the amount of confidence that, really, we wanted to see. Even though we let up we were able to stay really consistent, eliminate some mistakes, some errors, and change the outcome of the game which was really a good thing. I thought Kennedi had a great match. It was great to see Hannah back, you know, she has been out a whole week. I thought Savannah did well on defense today and so it was exciting. You know, I thought that they all played really well considering the little lapse in the third game.”

The next match for the Lady Cavaliers will be on Friday, August 28, at home against Klein Oak.