Marble Falls volleyball loses to Georgetown Gateway
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Kate McCary was one of the leaders for the Lady Mustangs in pushing the Georgetown Gateway Lady Gators to the limit. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School volleyball team lost to Georgetown Gateway 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 11-25 Sept. 12 in the second match of District 24-4A play.
The Lady Gators (16-6, 1-1), who reached the Class 4A Region III Division II final last year, took leads in the first and second games, though the Lady Mustangs (9-9, 0-2) began a furious comeback in each one.
Head coach Zoey Beard-Hanrahan gave one reason for the outcome in the second set.
“We had an extremely clean set,” she said. “We only had a single unforced error. They had quite a few more than us.”
She credited hitters Kate McCary, a senior, and Katie Terrell, a junior, for the offensive firepower.
“It seemed like no matter who was setting, the ball was finding the ground,” the coach said.” Kate McCary had a great second set and so did Katie Terrell.”
Beard-Hanrahan couldn’t pinpoint the turning point in the second set, adding that the Lady Mustangs played well as a unit.
“It was very much a team effort,” she said. “Gateway just started making the majority of mistakes, and we cleaned it up. My hitters started being smart with the ball placement.”
Though the third set didn’t play out like she hoped, Beard-Hanrahan commended her Lady Mustangs on their efforts.
“We had some fire in us after the win in the second set and we had a few more unforced errors but weren’t done fighting,” she said. “Our block was solid on those girls and our defense wouldn’t let them put a ball down.”
Realizing they needed to change something, the Lady Gators, who are ranked No. 20 in the latest Class 4A poll of the Texas Girls Coaches Association, decided to turn it up defensively.
“They had huge blockers, and we had a harder time finding a way to put the ball down,” Beard-Hanrahan said.
Though the match didn’t play out like they had wanted, the Lady Mustangs have shown plenty of fight during their two district matches. They took Burnet (17-6, 2-1) to five sets during the district opener Sept. 9 at The Doghouse, which hasn’t happened in several years. The Lady Dawgs are ranked No. 23 in the TGCA Class 4A poll. Now the Lady Mustangs came within two points of taking another set against a Gateway program that is well known throughout the region.
Marble Falls will take that on the road as the Lady Mustangs travel to play at Salado (21-12, 3-0) at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Salado is ranked No. 18 in the TGCA Class 4A poll.
The Lady Eagles, who are the defending district and Class 4A Region III Division II champions, feature senior middle blocker Elsie Law, who is committed to play for the University of Arkansas, and senior hitter Haley Brown, who recorded her 1,000 career kill in late August.
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior hitter Katie Terrell (left) and senior libero Kenadi Dalton put in the work in the back row to keep rallies going. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
