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Thursday
March 18, 2010 Since 1922 |
Bears hold off Crosby in playoff
By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun Published November 10, 2009 SPRING — Change was a good thing for Crosby’s volleyball team midway through Saturday’s Class 4A area-round playoff match.
But change also can be unexpected and inexplicable – difficult to explain.
And a drastic change in momentum midway through the fourth game spelled the end of the line for the Lady Cougars.
Montgomery’s Lady Bears, on their heels since Crosby coach Michael Williams adjusted his lineup after an 0-2 start, reeled off seven straight points and took a 25-18, 25-11, 12-25, 25-22 win at Spring High School.
“I thought we were in good shape,” Williams recalled a consistent two- to four-point lead in a Game 4 that the Lady Cougars needed to win to knot the best-of-five match at 2-2.
“Then we let them go on a six-point (sic) run. We let them back in the game.”
Senior outside hitter Natalie Slataper led Montgomery, the 28-12 District 18-4A runnerup, with 14 kills and big middle blocker Kaylee Nemeth wasn’t far behind.
Slataper had three kills, Nemeth two and Crosby was twice called for lifts, a hitting infraction, in the seven-point run as Montgomery went from trailing 16-l2 to leading 19-16.
The Cougars, who lost for the first time in nearly two months to finish the season at 37-3, battled back to tie Game 4 at 20-20 and 21-21 on two winners by Hailey Dodd.
But they couldn’t recapture the momentum.
Montgomery ran off three straight points for a 24-21 lead the closed out the afternoon on their second match point.
Senior Kacy Morris led the Lady Cougars with 16 kills and junior Jordan Sparks backed her up with 13 kills.
But the Crosby defense was overpowered in Games 1 and 2. The Lady Cougars couldn’t get a block up against the bigger Bears and they were particularly hurt by the jump serve of Montgomery setter Caitlin Ogletree.
She served 17 points for the Bears, including 11 in a row in the lopsided Game 2.
But she served only two more points in the final two games, none in Game 3.
“We flipped our lineup trying to shake things up,” Williams said. “At that point, we didn’t have anything to lose.”
What the coach meant was that the Lady Cougars who had been on the back line when Ogletree served in Games 1 and 2 went to the front line and vice versa.
“We were trying to get different people handling their serves and different blocking matchups,” he said.
Dodd, Kacy Morris and Shelby Willis began to mount a block and Crosby put on an exhibition of its best play, the defense, passing, serving and hitting that carried it to a 14-0 District 19-4A championship.
Sparks, Lacy Morris and Meagan Veach served tough, setter Jessie Travis teed the ball up perfectly for the hitters. Three times, Crosby scored four consecutive points, once five in a row.
Montgomery players served back-to-back points only twice.
Game 4 started with the Bears a bit unraveled. Their seven hitting and serving errors scored points for Crosby as the Cougars went ahead 16-12.
Then, suddenly, the tide turned.
The Baytown Sun Published November 10, 2009 SPRING — Change was a good thing for Crosby’s volleyball team midway through Saturday’s Class 4A area-round playoff match.
But change also can be unexpected and inexplicable – difficult to explain.
And a drastic change in momentum midway through the fourth game spelled the end of the line for the Lady Cougars.
Montgomery’s Lady Bears, on their heels since Crosby coach Michael Williams adjusted his lineup after an 0-2 start, reeled off seven straight points and took a 25-18, 25-11, 12-25, 25-22 win at Spring High School.
“I thought we were in good shape,” Williams recalled a consistent two- to four-point lead in a Game 4 that the Lady Cougars needed to win to knot the best-of-five match at 2-2.
“Then we let them go on a six-point (sic) run. We let them back in the game.”
Senior outside hitter Natalie Slataper led Montgomery, the 28-12 District 18-4A runnerup, with 14 kills and big middle blocker Kaylee Nemeth wasn’t far behind.
Slataper had three kills, Nemeth two and Crosby was twice called for lifts, a hitting infraction, in the seven-point run as Montgomery went from trailing 16-l2 to leading 19-16.
The Cougars, who lost for the first time in nearly two months to finish the season at 37-3, battled back to tie Game 4 at 20-20 and 21-21 on two winners by Hailey Dodd.
But they couldn’t recapture the momentum.
Montgomery ran off three straight points for a 24-21 lead the closed out the afternoon on their second match point.
Senior Kacy Morris led the Lady Cougars with 16 kills and junior Jordan Sparks backed her up with 13 kills.
But the Crosby defense was overpowered in Games 1 and 2. The Lady Cougars couldn’t get a block up against the bigger Bears and they were particularly hurt by the jump serve of Montgomery setter Caitlin Ogletree.
She served 17 points for the Bears, including 11 in a row in the lopsided Game 2.
But she served only two more points in the final two games, none in Game 3.
“We flipped our lineup trying to shake things up,” Williams said. “At that point, we didn’t have anything to lose.”
What the coach meant was that the Lady Cougars who had been on the back line when Ogletree served in Games 1 and 2 went to the front line and vice versa.
“We were trying to get different people handling their serves and different blocking matchups,” he said.
Dodd, Kacy Morris and Shelby Willis began to mount a block and Crosby put on an exhibition of its best play, the defense, passing, serving and hitting that carried it to a 14-0 District 19-4A championship.
Sparks, Lacy Morris and Meagan Veach served tough, setter Jessie Travis teed the ball up perfectly for the hitters. Three times, Crosby scored four consecutive points, once five in a row.
Montgomery players served back-to-back points only twice.
Game 4 started with the Bears a bit unraveled. Their seven hitting and serving errors scored points for Crosby as the Cougars went ahead 16-12.
Then, suddenly, the tide turned.