The Littlefield Lady Cats’ varsity volleyball team fell to the Denver City Fillies on Tuesday in a hard-fought match, 0-3.
With the loss, the Lady Cats fall to 1-2 overall on the year.
In the first set, Daniela Vega served up an ace off of Maggie McNeese, before Natalie Garcia sent a hit sailing out of bounds to tie the set, 1-1. Bryndle Ray had a serve land just out of bounds, but McNeese responded with a kill through the block attempt of Annie Gonzalez and Natalie Ceniceros to keep the set knotted, 22.
Tailyn Gomez sent a serve out of bounds, but the Lady Cats would respond, as Ray set McNeese up for a tip that fell in for a kill to tie the set once more, 3-3.Ceniceros had a tip land out of bounds to give Littlefield a brief lead, but it was short-lived, as a save by Ray landed out of bounds, making the score, 4-4.
The play sparked a four-point rally that ended when Denver City was called for a fault, trimming the lead to, 7-5. London Taylor was called for being on the net and Analee Larrea followed it up with an Ace off of Ray to spark another four-point Denver City rally. Garcia had a kill land out of bounds on the sideline to give the serve back to Littlefield with the score, 6-12.
Kinzee Lowder delivered a kill off of Cobi Saldana, but Taylor answered with a kill to trim the lead to, 7-13. Brittani Wright sent a hit out of bounds for the Lady Cats, which sparked another three-point rally for the Fillies, stretching their lead to, 7-16, before Littlefield took a time out to talk things over.
Out of the break, Mattie Seymore delivered a kill on the back line off of the set from Kami Silveira, and Seymore followed it up with a kill off of the block attempt from Ceniceros, cutting the lead to, 9-16. Larrea responded with a kill off of the block attempt from McNeese.
The Fillies couldn’t capitalize, as Larrea sent a kill sailing out of bounds to make the score, 10-17. Denver City would quickly recover, as Ceniceros sent a kill over McNeese and Ashley Martinez followed it up with an ace on the back line to stretch the lead to, 10-19.
Denver City would go on to close out the set on a, 6-1, scoring run to take set one, 11-25.
In set two, Denver City jumped out to an, 0-5, lead, before Garcia sent a serve out of bounds. Saldana followed it up with a kill on the back line, but Seymore’s next serve landed out of bounds, pushing the lead to, 2-6. Ceniceros sent a kill into the net for the Fillies and Kirsten Padgett sent a hit short of the net, making the score, 4-6.
The Littlefield rally ended when Saldana sent a kill into the net to make the score, 4-7. The Lady Cats bounced back quickly, as Taylor delivered a kill in the middle of the court and on the next play, Larrea sent a hit out of bounds and a hit short of the net to tie the score, 7-7. Lowder dropped in a tip off of Silveira for a kill.Akill attempt by Saldana landed out of bounds, but Garcia and Padgett sent back-to-back hits into the net, tying the set, 9-9.
The back-and-forth set continued until Garcia sent a serve out of bounds giving Littlefield a one-point advantage, 13-12. The Fillies took a time out to talk things over and out of the break, a tip by Ray was dug out by Kolie Ellison, but it was hit into the net by Ceniceros, pushing the Littlefield lead to, 14-12. A kill from Ceniceros was dug out by Saldana, but the tip from Nevaeh Lopez made it over the net and landed out of bounds, sparking a three-point rally for the Fillies.
A serve from Martinez landed out of bounds to tie the set, 15-15, but a hit into the net by Saldana gave the Fillies a one-point advantage. Neither team could gain the upper hand, as Ceniceros sent a serve out of bounds, but Saldana sent a hit over the back boundary line on the next play, making the score, 16-17. Denver City could not capitalize, as Garcia sent a hit out of bounds on the sideline to again tie the set, 17-17.
A back-and-forth battle ensued until Kealee Bussey delivered a kill through the block attempt of Ceniceros to make the score, 20-19. Ray followed it up with an ace and Gonzalez sent a hit into the net on the next play to push the lead to, 22-19. Denver City took a time out to talk things over, and out of the break, Garcia delivered a kill off of the block attempt from McNeese and Gonzalez followed it up with a kill, trimming the lead to, 22-21.
Larrea sent a hit short of the net, but a serve sailed out of bounds from Seymore and Ceniceros followed it up with a tip off of Madison Williams for a kill, tying the set, 23-23. Garcia sent a hit into the net for Denver City, but Ceniceros answered with a kill off of Ray to tie the set, 24-24. Taylor scored a kill off of Martinez, but Ray sent a hit out of bounds to keep the set tied, 2525.
Larrea had a serve fall short of the net for Denver City, but Lowder answered with a kill and Ray sent a tip into the net for Littlefield, making the score, 26-27. The Fillies would close out set two, as Ray hit a ball into the net off of a bad break from Gomez, giving Denver City the set, 26-28.
In set three, a hit from Lopez was hit out of bounds by Ceniceros, but the Fillies would respond, as a tim from Ceniceros was tipped out of bounds by Wright, making the score, 1-1. Garcia would keep it going with an ace off of Wright and Ceniceros followed it up with a kill off of the block attempt from Lopez, pushing the lead to, 1-3.
Seymore dropped in a tip for a kill, but Lopez had a tip blocked by Ceniceros for a kill, sparking a threepoint rally for Denver City. Martinez sent a serve sailing out of bounds to end the rally, but Ceniceros would deliver a kill off of Taylor to regain the serve for the Fillies with the score, 3-7.
Littlefield took a time out and out of the break, Larrea delivered a kill past Williams and Ceniceros delivered an ace off of Gomez to make the score, 39. Saldana sent a hit into the net, but she would respond with a kill off of Lowder’s block attempt to trim the lead to, 4-10. Denver City would go on a five-point rally, before Larrea sent a serve sailing out of bounds.
Saldana served a ball out of bounds and Ellison would follow it up with an ace off Wright, before a bad set from Silveria was unbale to be played at the net by Ray, extending the lead to, 6-18. A kill attempt from Ceniceros landed out of bounds, but Williams sent a serve short of the net, making the score, 7-19.
The Fillies would go on to close out the set on a, 6-3, scoring run to take the set, 10-25, and the match, 0-3.
The Lady Cats began tournament play on Thursday with two games. Results were not available at press time. They will continue their season on August 26th with a home match against Estacado.
First set is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.