By Ryan Mayner

The Hays Lady Rebels volleyball team defeated the Akins Lady Eagles 3-0 at Oran Bales gym on Tuesday night. The final tally was 25-15, 25-12, 25-13. 

Senior Kathryn Wristen had all 36 of the team’s assists, adding to her district-leading total. Senior Taylor Britton had all 3 blocks; she is 3rd in the district. Ashley Slovak had 11 digs to lead the team; she is 4th in the rankings. And Sophomore Mackenzie Coates had 11 kills in 14 attempts; she places 2nd in district hitting and 4th in kills.

Coach Stephanie Coates said, “I thought we came out and played a pretty solid match. There were times I thought our ball control wasn’t what it needed to be for us to stay in tempo and set tempo in the match, but we went ahead and turned that back around and did a better job in the later part of the match. We were a little out of position in a few places; I’ve got a few kids that were playing in new spots tonight, but I think they did an excellent job. I think at times we may have had a few timing issues, but overall I think we did a good job tonight, chemistry-wise. It’s probably one of the most awesome group of kids I’ve ever dealt with. Sometimes I wish they would have a little more killer instinct, but they’re getting there.”

Hays is now 15-24 overall, 4-5 in district with an important game coming up against Anderson on Friday night.