Faith Academy volleyball beats Cedar Park Summit

CAPTION: The Faith Academy of Marble Falls Lady Flames came from behind to shock Cedar Park Summit Aug. 20. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball team defeated Cedar Park Summit in five sets Aug. 20.

“We played as a team,” new head coach Rebekah Silvers said. “Before, we were just kind of struggling to get back in the groove of things to get our routine all jiving together, and I just feel like we came together.”

The victory was significant in many ways. First, Summit posted a 6-0 record at the Sugar and Spike tournament in Killeen.

Second, one of the Faith starters was sidelined with an injury, so coaches had to tweak the lineup and the rotations.

“We worked really hard in the last couple of practices, just really focusing on rotations and figuring out how to close the sets and just really working on knowing if they’re hitting it short and knowing they’re catching us off guard in a lot of places and really just trying to work together to figure that out,” Silvers said.

And finally, Faith had to bounce back from being down 0-2 in the match with the Lady Eagles winning 25-20, 25-21.

“That was hard because we were right there, and we felt like we were just fighting for it,” the coach said. “The energy was good, we just couldn’t pull it off right.”

The Lady Flames used the three minutes between the second and third sets to regroup. Silvers pointed out the players knew they could do it – it was just a matter of getting it done.

All the elements came together in a 25-22 victory in the third game to keep the contest going.

“We were battling it out,” Silvers said. “And then we were like ‘here we go.'”

From there the momentum increased as Faith won 25-17 and 15-4 for the first win of the season.

“You could feel it,” the coach said. “You could feel the energy. If they made a mistake, no big deal. ‘Here we go, ready for the next ball,’ and just really encouraging one another. And then we just took it the last game. And what a celebration.”

Silvers believes the practices leading to the match were beneficial following the five set loss to Llano Aug. 10. In that match Faith led 2-0, but the Lady Jackets won the final three games for the victory.

Senior hitter Kerrington Silvers had 16 kills followed by junior athlete Ella Claiborne with 15 and junior setter Olivia Kraenzel had 20 assists. With another teammate who wasn’t feeling well not immediately available, the younger Silvers ended up playing every position on the court.

“She did fantastic. She really pulled her weight there,” Rebekah Silvers said. “I’m seeing the fruits of their labor from the last couple days of practice. It was just all coming together, and they looked like a team, they looked like they blended together. I could just really see them encouraging one another and just really working and wanting it.”

She believes this match had more to do with team chemistry and each Lady Flame believing in herself and her teammates.

“The whole vibe was just good because we were just kind of struggling to get back on our feet and get out there and do what we know how to do,” she said. “They know how to play — I never questioned that — they know how to play. It was us getting our vibe together and playing as a team. So they did. I’m so proud of how they adjusted, and they pulled it off. It was great.”

Faith welcomes Christian School of Castle Hills Thursday, Aug. 20, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow.