Pulses were as quick as the volleys on the Brownwood court Monday night as the 12-9 Lingleville Lady Cardinals made school history and clenched the Regional Quarterfinal Championship win over the 27-7 Rochelle Lady Hornets. (Rochelle had been ranked fifth in state for 1A teams earlier in the day.)
“Our energy and communication has been at an all time high throughout this playoff journey,” said Lingleville volleyball coach Ty Johnston. “We are all incredibly blessed to be a part of this team that continues to make school history in their advancements.”
Although both teams were undefeated in district, the Lady Cards had recently faced a narrow defeat to Rochelle on Oct. 29 in a post-season/pre-playoff warmup game The game started even but Lingleville quickly built momentum in the first set, claiming it 25-14. The maroon and white followed that with an even more decisive 25-10 score in the second set.
Rochelle bounced back in the third set claiming narrow leads that were closed by Lingleville until the score rested at 24-24.
A timeout was called as coaches in both team sought to motivate their players to claim the next decisive points—points that would either keep Rochelle in the game or claim the historymaking title for Lingleville.
Lingleville scored another but Rochelle answered with a point of their own, leaving a resolved Lingleville to add two more points to claim the third set 27-25.
The Lady Cards had already made history on Thursday as they claimed the Area Championship title in a three-set victory against Richland Springs at Zephyr.
“We came out with a lot of energy and we were communicating well on the floor,” Johnston said of the Area game. “It has been a long season full of hard work and late hours for these girls but it’s all paying off.”
“We continue to enjoy and celebrate the wins, but there is still a job to do and we will keep working and preparing for the task at hand,” he added.
The Lady Cards are now heading to Midlothian Friday where they will face the winner of the Benjamin and Harrold game.