Lady Bulldogs put forth good effort in regional quarterfinals
Yoakum volleyball will not be making a return trip to the regional tournament this season.
The Lady Bulldogs lost to the Poth Piratettes 25-18. 21-25, 25-15, 25-18 Monday night at Seguin ISD’s Goldie Harris Gym. Yoakum dropped the first set, won the second game before coming up short in two straight sets.
“It was not our best volleyball tonight. Poth really kept us off balance,” Yoakum head coach Kayla Natho said. “They did good things offensively that were much more controlled than I thought they would be. We did not execute when we needed to and did not take care of the little things. We were not as disciplined as we needed to be. I am still proud of the girls. It is really hard when you lose one of your starting middle (blockers) the week before playoffs. Proud of our girls for fighting.”
Natho noted she had a competitive and spirited group of players, regardless of how the season turned out. “I have the best girls. They are fun to coach and to be around. I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” she said. “We could have a losing season but with these girls, it would make it worth it.” Four Lady Bulldog seniors wore the Yoakum jersey for the final time— Madison Gonzales, Macie Blakeney, Addison Pekar and Destiny Rios.
The seniors were the heart and soul of the program,” Natho said. “When they were freshmen and then sophomores, we were not a good volleyball program. Yoakum volleyball has come a long way because of them. They would come in every day determined to get better. I will miss Macie as my setter and she will be hard to replace as she has run my offense for four years; Destiny, outside hitter, brings so much passion and energy; Addison is the most improved of the seniors and Madison was always good for a laugh with her crazy antics.” Jayana Phillips, Blakeney and Rios all contributed early kills as neither team got more than a one-point lead in the first set. At a 16-16 tie, Poth went on a 8-0 run with four combined kills by Chloe Conn and Sadie Drzymala. Blakeney got Yoakum within 24-18 with a kill before Poth took game point
Pekar had a kill as Yoakum took a 2-0 lead at the start of the second game. Poth rallied for a 10-3 run and was later ahead 13-8 before kills by Phillips and Pekar, and an Olivia Fojt ace put the Lady ‘Dogs ahead 14-13. Poth came back for a 15-14 and Yoakum then scored seven of the next nine points before each team scored four each to give Yoakum a four-point win at 25-21. Poth opened the third set with six of the first seven and went up 11-2. Yoakum was unable to mount any serious comeback, falling in the third game 25-15.
In game No. 4, Yoakum came back in the early goings to force four ties after trailing by a point or two and later went ahead 10-9 only to see Poth score three quick points. Yoakum retook the lead at 13-12 and then later at 14-13 but never saw the lead again as Poth went on a combined 12-4 run to end the set and the match. The team advanced to the regional quarterfinals after a 25-20, 25-17, 25-12 sweep of Crystal City Thursday in San Antonio.
Pekar had 12 kills, three digs, one solo block, one block assist; Amori Harper produced two kills, one block assist; Bri Lopez had three digs; Rios added nine digs, five kills, one solo block; Phillips tallied 17 kills, eight digs, two assists, one ace; Leah Muenich had three digs, one ace; Blakeney had 34 assists, 10 digs, five kills, two aces, two solo. blocks; Gonzales had seven digs, two assists, one ace; Fojt contributed 16 digs, one assist.