The Littlefield Lady Cats’ varsity volleyball team took a loss at home on Tuesday to the Ropes Lady Eagles, 0-3, in pre-district play.
With the loss, the Lady Cats fall to 9-6 overall on the season.
Bree Stumbo sent a kill past Julie Bownds and Maggie McNeese to open set one, but Bownds answered with a kill past Kamdyn Garcia to tie the set, 1-1. Stumbo sent a kill sailing out of bounds on the next play and Campbell Latta was called for a double hit on the following play to put Littlefield in front, 3-1.
Bownds delivered another kill off of Garcia, but on the next play, Stumbo responded with a kill off of the block attempt by Bownds, making the score, 4-2, as Ropes regained the serve. The Lady Cats would fire right back on the next play, as Kenzie Jordan sent a kill past Keeley Shakespeare on the back row to extend their lead to, 52.
Alyssa Torres couldn’t keep the rally going, as her serve sailed out of bounds on the sideline and a kill attempt by Bownds landed out of bounds on the next play to make it a one-point game, 5-4. Bownds responded with a kill off of the block attempt by Madison Reyna and Reyna’s kill try on the next play sailed over the back boundary line, stretching the Lady Cat lead back out to, 7-4.
Madi Brown served up an ace off of Stumbo, as Ropes took a time out to talk things over. Out of the break, Brown served up another ace off of Stumbo and Myli Hernandez followed it up with a tip that was hit into the net by Garcia, pushing the Littlefield lead to, 10-4.
Hernandez kept the Lady Cat rally going with a kill off of Stumbo to make the score, 11-4. Ropes would bounce back a few plays later, as Reyna dropped in a tip off of Hernandez for a kill to make the score, 13-8, but her next serve fell short of the net, making the score, 14-8, as the serve went back over to Littlefield.
McNeese and Bownds were called for touching the net on back-to-back plays and Bri Valdez was called for a double hit on the set on the next play to cut the lead to, 14-11. McNeese ended the run with a kill over Stumbo that was partially blocked at the net before falling for the kill, but the Lady Cats couldn’t capitalize, as Bryndle Ray’s next serve fell short of the net, trimming the lead to, 15-12.
Both teams exchanged bad serves and Bownds responded with a kill in front of Garcia to make the score, 17-13. Stratton Schertz sent a kill into the back corner for Ropes and on the next play, Hernandez was blocked by Reyna and Aubrey Bandy and the second- chance hit landed out of bounds from Hernandez slicing the lead to, 17-15.
Two plays later, Ropes would tie the set on a hit into the net by Torres, making the score, 17-17 and a hit out of bounds by the Lady Cats on the following play, put the Lady Eagles in front, 1718. A long dig by Stumbo was killed at the net by Hernandez to tie the set, but Ropes quickly answered with a kill on the sideline by Reyna. Each team sent a hit out of bounds to make the score, 19-20, but Ropes would go on a, 5-3, scoring run to close out set one, 21-25, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Lady Eagles got started early in set two and never looked back, taking the set, 12-25, to go up 2-0 in the match.
In set three, Ropes jumped out to a, 2-0 lead, before Bownds delivered a kill off of Shakespeare to get the Lady Cats on the board. Ray served up an ace on the back boundary line, but Bownds sent a hit into the net on the next play, making the score, 2-3. Jordan sent a kill attempt sailing out of bounds, sparking a four-point rally for the Lady Eagles before Bownds answered with a kill that was blocked by Stumbo, but landed out of bounds, trimming the lead to, 3-7.
A dig at the net on the next play by Schertz landed out of bounds for Ropes, but a kill attempt on the next play by Bownds landed just out of bounds, making the score, 4-8. Stumbo followed it up with an ace off of Ropes, as Littlefield took a time out to talk things over, trailing the Lady Eagles, 4-9.
Out of the break, Bownds was blocked by Reyna and the ball was hit into the net by Jordan, stretching the lead to, 4-10. A return by Ray off of the serve from Stumbo landed out of bounds, but Hanlin ended the scoring drought for Littlefield with a kill in front of Reyna to make the score, 5-11.
A hit by Reyna on the next play landed out of bounds on the sideline, but the Lady Cats couldn’t keep the rally going, as Ray sent a tip short of the net to make the score, 6-12. Schertz served up an ace off of Hanlin before her next serve landed out of bounds to make the score, 7-13. Schertz’s return off of the serve by Valdez landed short of the net, but Ropes answered, as Reya dropped a tip over Hernandez for a kill to stretch their lead back out to, 8-14.
A hit by Hanlin was hit into the net by Stumbo and Ropes hit the
foul pole on the next play to cut the lead to, 10-14. Littlefield took a time out and out of the break, a hit by Paige Luning fell short of the net, trimming the lead to, 11-14. Ropes would rally for three points, before Schertz was called for a double hit to give the serve back to Littlefield.
Stumbo sent a kill sailing out of bounds to make the score, 13-17, but on the following play, Stumbo dropped a tip over Bownds and Lyric Rios that Hanlin couldn’t dig, making the score, 13-18. A kill attempt by Stumbo landed out of bounds, but Littlefield couldn’t capitalize, as Ray’s serve sailed out of bounds, extending the lead to, 14-19.
Bownds sent a hit into the net, but Ropes couldn’t capitalize, as Garcia’s serve fell short of the net, making the score, 15-20. A kill try by Rylee McDaniel landed out of bounds for the Lady Eagles, but Kamryn Jimenez’s next serve fell short of the net making the score, 16-21.
Ray was called for a double hit, but Stumbo’s next serve sailed out of bounds for Ropes, making the score, 17-22. Brown’s serve was returned by the Lady Eagles, but it landed out of bounds, cutting the lead to, 18-22. A long dig on the next play was killed at the net by Hernandez and on the following play, Schertz hit a ball into the net, slicing the lead to, 20-22.
Hernandez delivered a kill off of Stumbo, as Ropes took a time out with their lead cut to just one point, 21-22. Out of the break, Jordan was able to drop in a tip for a kill to tie things up, but Schertz answered with a kill in the back corner for Ropes and a kill attempt by Jordan on the next play sailed out of bounds, making the score, 2224.Reyna delivered a tip past Brown on the back row to close out the set, 22-25, and the match, 0-3.
The Lady Cats will return to action on Tuesday when they host Lamesa and Dimmitt for a dual. They will play Lamesa at 4:30 and Dimmitt at 6:30 p.m.