The Lingleville Lady Cardinals split wins in a tri match in the LHS gym Tuesday, Aug. 19.
The plays started with a 3-0 loss to Perrin-Whitt.
“We got better as we played on, but if we see them again we will have to find a solution to their strong outside attack,” said head Lingleville volleyball coach Brandon Haught. “Although we lost 3-0, I wouldn’t call it a blow out as each set was close. It’s great that we are competing well with some of the best teams in the state, but we want to get to that next level and make a deep run in the playoffs.”
“These girls want that too, and that’s why you are seeing such a fight from them,” he continued, adding that the Lady Cards’ losses have all been to state ranked teams.
The home team bounced back with a 3-0 victory over Zephyr.
“Zephyr is no slouch either,” Haught said. “That team has really given us problems the last few years and are consistently a good playoff team.”
Haught said he and his team don’t ever discuss the rankings or status of a team heading into a match so they can bring the same fire to the court every time.
“The only time you’ll hear me talk about [rankings] is when I’m talking to our friends at the Dublin Citizen,” he said. “We don’t care who is who, we have one goal and that is to win.... and we are doing just that.”
Haught said he was proud of his players, calling out a few of them at the start of this season.
“Brynlee James has been doing great in a relief role and is looking strong in the middle,” he said. “Jazmin Martinez has stepped into the Libero role and these last few games she is really coming into her own. Denise Toledo is coming off a Defensive Player of the Year award as a freshman. We moved her to outside and she’s showing how much of an offensive threat she is too.”
The Lady Cards were facing tough games against Lipan and Richland Springs on Tuesday, Aug. 26. Lipan defeated Lingleville in 5 sets last year, and Richland Springs made a run to the regional tournament. They are heading to Dublin Saturday for play in the DABC tournament.