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Friday
November 20, 2009 Since 1922 |
Late Lee Lady Gander rally can’t cool Pearland
By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun Published November 3, 2009 HOUSTON – The 2009 volleyball season ran out on the Lee Lady Ganders Monday night, just as did their Class 5A bidistrict match with Pearland.
The Lee players seemed to find a solution to Lady Oiler hitter Malorie Pardo in the third game and kept that stanza close before losing it 25-18.
Unfortunately for Lee, that closed out the match at Clear Lake’s Krueger Field House in favor of Pearland in three sets, 25-13, 25-12, 25-18.
“They played well in that last game,” Lady Ganders coach Alicia Nava said of her team, fourth-place finishers in District 21-5A.
“It makes a big difference technique-wise. If you stick to the gameplan, you have better results.”
Pardo, a 5-foot-10 junior, owns a rocket-launcher for a right arm, and her big swings set Lee’ defenders reeling in the first two games en route to 20 kills on the night.
In the third game, the Lady Ganders got digs for several of her big hits and a pair of blocks, by juniors Mary Grosjean and Jenny Epperson.
Jackie Perez had six kills and Deanna Hildebrand four as Lee ended its season with a record of 17-19 overall. Pearland, the District 22-5A champ, improved to 26-7.
Pearland scored the first three points of the night and led Game 1 10-4 before stretching out to a double-digit lead at 22-12 on three consecutive missiles off the right hand of Pardo.
Lee, showing some playoff jitters, committed seven hitting and ball-handling errors in the first game, including one serve that went under the net. But the Oilers had eight errors, including four service miscues.
In Game 2, Pearland’s Marissa Collins served the Oilers to a quick 5-0 lead with three of the points coming on aces. The district champs led 8-2 with both Lee’s points coming off serves into the net by Pearland.
Oiler Genny Turk scored on back-to-back blocks of Lee’s Perez and Hildebrand as Pearland upped its lead to 16-4. Perez picked up four of her kills in this game but back-to-back ball-handling errors by Lee ended this set.
The Lady Ganders had 10 miscues in Game 2 to seven for the Oilers, including four more missed serves.
Lee scored first in Game 3 on an ace serve by Haley Smith but the Oilers picked up the next four points, two on kills by Pardo. Grosjean got a kill and Hildebrand served an ace to get Lee within 4-3 but three straight Pardo points had Pearland up 9-4 soon.
Epperson served an ace, Smith got a kill and Pearland chipped in five of its eight Game 3 errors as Lee closed to within 12-11.
But the Oilers scored five straight points and eight out of 11 for a 20-14 lead in a stretch that saw Lee commit in five of its 10 errors for the final game.
Grosjean’s block of Pardo set up two straight aces by Grosjean to get Lee within 20-17, but the Oilers went up 23-17 on Autumn Taylor’s tip and two Lee errors.
Epperson’s block on Pardo got a point back for Lee, but Pardo’s big hit off the Lady Gander block provided match point, which came when Grosjean’s shot fell just wide of the boundary.
Pearland advances to play this weekend against the winner of a bidistrict match between Dulles and Clear Creek.
Lee will say goodbye to seniors Hildebrand, Jazmine Edwards and Brenda Chavez and begin to work for next season with the team’s returners, who include Epperson, Grosjean, Smith, Zasha Henderson, Karsyn Jackson, Jonae Simpson, Holly Thibodaux, Kaylyn Bieschke and Candace Grosjean.
The Lady Ganders are expected to compete in Class 4A next year.
“We had a good season, a good run and I’m proud of them,” Nava, the Lady Ganders coach, said. “Next year, everything is going to be new. We’ll have a new district and a new division.”
The Baytown Sun Published November 3, 2009 HOUSTON – The 2009 volleyball season ran out on the Lee Lady Ganders Monday night, just as did their Class 5A bidistrict match with Pearland.
The Lee players seemed to find a solution to Lady Oiler hitter Malorie Pardo in the third game and kept that stanza close before losing it 25-18.
Unfortunately for Lee, that closed out the match at Clear Lake’s Krueger Field House in favor of Pearland in three sets, 25-13, 25-12, 25-18.
“They played well in that last game,” Lady Ganders coach Alicia Nava said of her team, fourth-place finishers in District 21-5A.
“It makes a big difference technique-wise. If you stick to the gameplan, you have better results.”
Pardo, a 5-foot-10 junior, owns a rocket-launcher for a right arm, and her big swings set Lee’ defenders reeling in the first two games en route to 20 kills on the night.
In the third game, the Lady Ganders got digs for several of her big hits and a pair of blocks, by juniors Mary Grosjean and Jenny Epperson.
Jackie Perez had six kills and Deanna Hildebrand four as Lee ended its season with a record of 17-19 overall. Pearland, the District 22-5A champ, improved to 26-7.
Pearland scored the first three points of the night and led Game 1 10-4 before stretching out to a double-digit lead at 22-12 on three consecutive missiles off the right hand of Pardo.
Lee, showing some playoff jitters, committed seven hitting and ball-handling errors in the first game, including one serve that went under the net. But the Oilers had eight errors, including four service miscues.
In Game 2, Pearland’s Marissa Collins served the Oilers to a quick 5-0 lead with three of the points coming on aces. The district champs led 8-2 with both Lee’s points coming off serves into the net by Pearland.
Oiler Genny Turk scored on back-to-back blocks of Lee’s Perez and Hildebrand as Pearland upped its lead to 16-4. Perez picked up four of her kills in this game but back-to-back ball-handling errors by Lee ended this set.
The Lady Ganders had 10 miscues in Game 2 to seven for the Oilers, including four more missed serves.
Lee scored first in Game 3 on an ace serve by Haley Smith but the Oilers picked up the next four points, two on kills by Pardo. Grosjean got a kill and Hildebrand served an ace to get Lee within 4-3 but three straight Pardo points had Pearland up 9-4 soon.
Epperson served an ace, Smith got a kill and Pearland chipped in five of its eight Game 3 errors as Lee closed to within 12-11.
But the Oilers scored five straight points and eight out of 11 for a 20-14 lead in a stretch that saw Lee commit in five of its 10 errors for the final game.
Grosjean’s block of Pardo set up two straight aces by Grosjean to get Lee within 20-17, but the Oilers went up 23-17 on Autumn Taylor’s tip and two Lee errors.
Epperson’s block on Pardo got a point back for Lee, but Pardo’s big hit off the Lady Gander block provided match point, which came when Grosjean’s shot fell just wide of the boundary.
Pearland advances to play this weekend against the winner of a bidistrict match between Dulles and Clear Creek.
Lee will say goodbye to seniors Hildebrand, Jazmine Edwards and Brenda Chavez and begin to work for next season with the team’s returners, who include Epperson, Grosjean, Smith, Zasha Henderson, Karsyn Jackson, Jonae Simpson, Holly Thibodaux, Kaylyn Bieschke and Candace Grosjean.
The Lady Ganders are expected to compete in Class 4A next year.
“We had a good season, a good run and I’m proud of them,” Nava, the Lady Ganders coach, said. “Next year, everything is going to be new. We’ll have a new district and a new division.”