Faith Academy volleyball displays plenty at Aggieland tourney

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball team went 3-2 at the Aggieland Tournament Sept. 5-6.

The Lady Flames (15-5) defeated Longview East Texas Homeschool 25-18, 25-23, Latexo 25-18, 25-22 and a team out of Missouri 26-24, 27-29, 18-16 and lost to San Antonio Patriots Homeschool twice: 23-25, 22-25 and 20-25, 25-21, 10-15.

This was the first time Faith competed at this tournament, which was more of a gut check. That’s because the Lady Flames hadn’t played since Aug. 30 and many of the players were recovering from illness.

“So many were sick,” head coach Erin Sawyer said. “I think if we’d been at full health, we would have been better. I’m very proud of them for pulling through.”

Sawyer noted she saw “mistakes that we don’t normally make” in each match. But the players continued to compete fight through them. In addition, some players may have been playing in positions they may not normally spend a lot of time in to give their teammates a chance at a longer rest.

“We would move and adjust to what we were seeing,” Sawyer said. “They’re playing hard, and I think they’re going to be ready for (District 4-3A of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools).”

Faith is welcoming Temple Central Texas Christian Thursday, Sept. 11, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow.

While most believe the district title will be won by one of those two teams, Sawyer pointed out that her squad a year ago didn’t win the district championship but captured the regional title to advance to the Class 3A state tournament.

Providence Classical beat Faith en route to defeating Wylie Prep Academy for the state crown. The Lady Paladins didn’t lose a set at the state tournament.

“I’m sill seeing good things,” Sawyer said of her players. “They came up and dug deep and showed up. The girls showed up. They showed me ‘I can do this,’ and they’re ready. Win or lose, we’re pumped.”