Postseason begins for Lady Dogs today

Sports

Discussion

October 31, 2009

New Waverly to battle Anderson-Shiro in playoff for second place in district

By Gene Schallenberg The Huntsville Item Sat Oct 31, 2009, 01:24 AM CDT

The playoffs may not begin until next week, but as far as the New Waverly volleyball squad is concerned, the postseason starts now.

The Lady Dogs and Anderson-Shiro play today in a tiebreaker for second place in District 21-2A at 3 p.m. at Madisonville High School.

“We haven’t talked that much about Anderson as far as plan and strategy,” New Waverly head coach Stacy Hill said on Thursday. “It was more about staying mentally tough. That’s something we’ve struggled with all year long. It’s going to be tough to stay mentally tough the whole match, especially in this atmosphere we’re going to be in. If we maintain the focus that we had this morning (in practice), we’re going to be incredibly, incredibly hard to beat.”

New Waverly and Anderson-Shiro played twice this season with the home team coming away with the victory. In their most recent meeting on Oct. 20, the Lady Dogs defeated the Lady Owls in four games.

“When you’re playing somebody in your district that you’ve already played twice, it really brings out your best and it can help out these girls mentally,” Hill said. “They’re going to have to fight because Anderson’s just as fired up over there as we are and we’re not going to be able to take anything lightly or for granted.

“Anderson’s a really good team. They deserve a lot of respect because they’re very good and they’re a very smart team. They’ve got a couple of middle hitters that are pretty good. They’ve got a couple of girls that tip a lot and tip well. They’re just a smart group of girls,” the coach added. “It’ll be two evenly matched teams going head-to-head. There’s pressure on us because we want to finish in second place and we want to win in that moment.”

Ever since losing in straight sets to third-ranked Centerville on Oct. 9, New Waverly has been rolling. The Lady Bulldogs (10-4 in district play, 19-12 overall) have won four of their last five matches with the only setback coming against Trinity last week in a five-set affair.

“We’re coming together,” sophomore libero Kali Pavelock said. “We weren’t talking in that match against Trinity. We’re hoping to be the better team against Anderson.

“We’re hoping to improve everywhere. If we can do a good job with our passes, we should be all right. We have to come out ready to play. We can beat them if we play like we know how.”

The Lady Dogs do not know who their first-round playoff opponent will be. It will be either Kirbyville or Hemphill, teams that are breaking a tie tonight to decide second and third place in District 22-2A.

“I’m excited because I’ve never been in the playoffs before. It’s my first time,” Pavelock said.

Not only is New Waverly looking to win to have some momentum going into next week’s playoffs, but the Lady Dogs also are playing to be the second-best team out of 21-2A.

“It’s a lot about pride,” Hill added. “We fought really hard to stay where we were all season. A lot of people counted us out before the season ever started. The girls took that and fed off that.

“They know this is the first time in a long time that the volleyball girls can go out and get some respect. I think Saturday, if we win, we’ll prove we’re one of the top two teams in our district.”

Text Only

Sports

The thrill of victory ... the agony of defeat
The Bearkats knew exactly what they needed to get done and they were up to the task.
In order to reach championship day of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, the Kats would have to stave off elimination twice just to get to today’s final round.
The Bearkats nearly pulled it off.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
Kats beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-3
May 25, 2012
Alive and kicking: Bearkats still in hunt at SLC baseball tourney
With the possibility of going home early from the Southland Conference Tournament and a chance of their season coming to an abrupt end, the Bearkats needed some quality starting pitching and production from their bats in the worst way.
Like he has done all year long, Sam Houston senior Justin Jackson delivered a lights-out performance on the mound and the offense made the kind of impact the Bearkats have been looking for Thursday morning.
Both elements came together at the exact right time as the Kats stayed alive in the tourney with a 7-1 victory over McNeese State in an elimination game at Bobcat Ballpark.

May 24, 2012
Bad day for Bearkats
The Bearkats’ road to the NCAA tournament just got a little bit tougher.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi broke out for four runs before top-seeded Sam Houston even stepped to the plate Wednesday afternoon, but the Kats couldn’t find a way to counter that first punch.
Sam Houston connected for eight hits, but could not get enough of those in a row to make a dent in the deficit and are now one loss away from being eliminated from the Southland Conference tournament following a 9-2 loss at the hands of the eighth-seeded Islanders on Wednesday afternoon at the Bobcat Baseball Ballpark.

May 23, 2012
Schallenberg: Time is now for Bearkats in Southland tourney
The Bearkats look to take care of business this week in the Southland Conference baseball tournament.

May 20, 2012 1 Photo
Alpha Omega Academy trio shine at state track meet
Freshman brings home four medals, including two golds

May 19, 2012
Tough night for Kats against Rice
The Bearkats had a golden opportunity to make a lasting impression for a potential at-large bid in the NCAA tournament with fifth-ranked Rice coming to town. Sam Houston’s bats couldn’t get going early enough or be able to link enough hits together against the Owls pitching staff and succumbed to a 5-0 loss in the final game of the season at Don Sanders Stadium on Tuesday night.

May 16, 2012 2 Photos
BEARKAT BASEBALL — Plenty up for grabs against fifth-ranked Rice
For several reasons, today’s game against fifth-ranked Rice is going to be a biggie for the Bearkats.

May 14, 2012 1 Photo
SHSU MEN'S BASKETBALL — Kats sign ‘winner’ from Trinity Valley
Will Bond, a 6-3 guard from Trinity Valley Community College, has signed a letter-of-intent to attend Sam Houston State University and play men’s basketball for head coach Jason Hooten.

May 14, 2012
RUNNING SHORTS: New study confirms the benefits of running
May 14, 2012
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Postseason begins for Lady Dogs today

New Waverly to battle Anderson-Shiro in playoff for second place in district

Site Map

Contact Us