Lady Rams Back in Action Today After Sweep by Graham
By Amy Bearden
Opening district play against Graham was difficult for the Lady Rams last week as all three volleyball teams were defeated by the Lady Blue’s.
A lull of almost two weeks of non-competitive play made it tough for the Lady Rams to get off to a fast start in the match. Graham jumped off to a quick lead in the first set making it hard to fight their way back, but fight they did. At one time the score was 19-10 in Graham’s favor, however, the ladies dug their way back and narrowed the lead to just five points, but ended up losing 25-18 in the first set.
The second set was a better start for the Lady Rams as they jumped to a quick 5-1 lead, but it didn’t last long. Graham tied the score 8-8 then both teams battled back and forth, point for point, for the duration of the second set, until Graham took the lead again at 20-19. The Lady Rams never gave up and really looked like they could win but unfortunately Graham took the second set with a final score of 25-22.
The next set was win or go home for the Lady Rams, and there is no doubt they still had fight left for the Lady Blues. The Rams quickly jumped out to a lead of five points, but Graham proved they know how to battle. The score was eventually matched at 16 until Graham pulled ahead and the Lady Rams could not regain their lead. They lost the final set 25-22.
Coach Kimberly Branch says the Lady Rams are getting closer to becoming the team they want to be.
“We were proud of their effort. They executed the game plan for the most part. Graham just would go on runs and we would fight back. Just came up short,” said Branch.
“The growth and competitiveness these ladies showed was impressive. They fought for every point. We just needed a few things to fall our way and that just didn’t happen. When we see them at our place we will come with that same fight. There’s no doubt when we find a way to finish and win big games like that, they will be tough to beat. We are getting better and their time is coming.”
The Junior Varsity struggled with the Lady Blue’s as well. The first set went to Graham, 25-10, the second to Mineral Wells, 27-25 and the tie breaker match was 25-15 in their favor. The Freshman squad fell in two sets, 25-21 and 25-19.
The Lady Rams will take on one of their toughest district teams tonight at home.
Stephenville comes to town with a record of 20-8 on the season and currently has a five game winning streak.
Come fill the stands tonight in the MWHS gym as the Lady Rams take on the Stephenville Honeybees. JV/Freshman play at 6:00pm and the Varsity hits the court at 7pm.
