Faith Academy volleyball beats Conroe Covenant to begins the postseason

CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore athlete Ella Claiborne (20) took over the match to ensure the Lady Flames returned to the regional final. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball team defeated Conroe Covenant 3-1 Nov. 4 in the area round the of Class 3A playoffs of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

The Lady Flames face Spring Providence Classical (26-9-1) tentatively scheduled for noon Saturday, Nov. 8, at Giddings High School in the regional final.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Faith head coach Erin Sawyer said. “They were going after balls and giving full effort. That’s what I wanted to see in the playoffs.”

Faith (28-7, 10-2 District 4-3A runner-up) took the opening set 26-24 thanks to a service ace by sophomore setter Olivia Kraenzel to tie the set at 24-24, a block by senior middle blocker Natalie Weems for set point, and a kill by sophomore athlete Ella Claiborne.

But the Lady Cougars fought back in the second set, winning the final four points to claim it 25-23 thanks to a kill off a block and back-to-back Lady Flame hitting errors.

Claiborne took over the final points of the third set where she won Faith’s 24th and 25th points on kills after Covenant called a timeout.

The sophomore showed everyone in The Fire Pit and left no doubt who was the most athletically gifted player in the venue. To appreciate Claiborne’s talent, consider this. Out of Faith’s 25 points, Claiborne delivered 11 thanks to kills and swats. The Lady Cougars only blocked her once to get within 7-10. That started a run to close to 9-10 when the Lady Flames asked for a timeout.

But when Faith stepped back on the floor, the Lady Flames went on a 10-3 run highlighted by Claiborne’s directional tip, Kraenzel’s ace and the hitting and blocking talents of junior hitter Kerrington Silvers. By the time Covenant called for a timeout, Faith led 20-12.

When they returned to the floor, Claiborne took over by single-handedly winning Faith’s final five points thanks to four kills and a dink. She hit the open hole in the middle of the defense for the winners.

“Your job as a hitter is to hit whatever comes your way,” the coach said. “There’s a time and a place for tipping and dinking. You have to try and figure it out. They finally found those spots.”

Claiborne finished with 25 of Faith’s 47 kills in the match followed by Silvers with 16. Senior libero Bosley Kuker had 35 receptions and 28 digs, while Claiborne had 22 receptions and 34 digs. Kraenzel had 22 assists and junior Reese Ramsey had 16.

Though Faith had only four blocks, Sawyer pointed out they didn’t come from the usual Lady Flames. And Kuker and juniors Ella Chavira and Ava Beltran did the job of the back row, which is to dig spikes.

“The girls who are getting blocks normally don’t,” she said. “I’m proud of the girls for their defense. Teams are hitting around (my blockers) and others are stepping up. There were small mistakes on timing and going for balls. What I was proud of is they pushed farther. They create their own limits. You have to try for balls you don’t normally try for.”

Sawyer noted the Lady Flames had a lot of time between matches. They competed in a warm-up Oct. 30, their first match since beating San Marcos Academy in straight sets Oct. 23. So she attributed the start of the match to getting back into a rhythm.

“It’s been awhile since we played,” she said. “But the girls still were together and played well.”

CAPTION: Faith Academy junior hitter Kerrington Silvers (16) forces Conroe Covenant to defend her thanks to her numerous kills. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro