By Spencer Spillman
The Hays Lady Rebels played host to the Del Valle Lady Cardinals Tuesday night in Bales Gym.
The Lady Rebs took control from the start and never looked back. Hays won all three sets to win the match, 25-15, 25-20, and 25-11.
The first set was tied 8-8 early on when Lady Rebels’ Taylor Britton took over with nine straight service points, four of which were aces.
“[Coach] Coates was calling the open spots for me, and I was just working on hitting them,” said Britton.
By the time Britton was done serving, Hays found themselves up 18-9. Britton joked about her final ace that barely snuck over the net, which put an accidental smirk on her face.
“That one hit my fingertips — not going to lie, it scared me,” she laughed.
The Lady Rebels quickly closed out the set as Britton got the final two kills to win 25-15.
The score remained tight in the second set. Hays dominated at the net, getting key blocks from Britton, Kaitlyn Krafka, Caroline Croft and Mackenzie Coates. The Lady Cardinals stayed close with big kills from Arteja Baker, Carolyna Osorio and Melissa Salinas.
With the Lady Rebels pulling away from Del Valle, Coates finished off the second set with two punishing kills.
Hays’ started off the third set on a good note as senior captain Kathryn Wristen served a first point ace. Her teammates followed her lead, and it was clear the Lady Rebels were out to make a statement as they jumped out to a 9-2 lead.
Coates picked up where she left off in the second set with two early kills in the third. She led the
Lady Rebels with 10 of the teams’ 36 kills in the match; five of those came in the third set.
Hays’ Britton added three kills and Shannon Park had two kills of her own in the third set. Up 17-11, the Lady Rebels closed out the match on an 8-0 run, with the final nail in the coffin coming from
Coates as she served seven times, with an ace on the final point of the game.
Hays’ Coach Stephanie Coates was happy to get the win but felt there was room for improvement.
“I wish we would’ve be running at a little faster tempo.” “We kind of slowed down and maybe played to their tempo of the game rather than the tempo that we like to play,” she said.
Hays will host a tough Bowie team Friday night as the regular season nears to a close.
