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November 3, 2009

Lots of fight left

Lady Dogs win final four points to capture bi-district match in five games Tuesday

By Gene Schallenberg

WOODVILLE — Finally in the playoffs, the New Waverly volleyball knew there was no more margin for error. It’s all about surviving and advancing.

Survive was exactly what the Lady Bulldogs did Tuesday night against Hemphill at the Eagle Summit at Woodville High School.

In the deciding set, New Waverly overcame four Hemphill match points to beat the Lady Hornets 19-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-15 and 18-16 in a Class 2A Region III bi-district playoff match.

The Lady Bulldogs, which improved to 22-12 on the season and won their first-ever playoff match, move on to the area round where they’ll face 19th-ranked Warren.

“The girls fought for three full months and it came down to one game,” New Waverly head coach Stacy Hill said. “I couldn’t be any more proud of them. They’ve worked hard since the first day we stepped on the court. I’m really, really proud of them.”

The Lady Bulldogs found themselves at a crossroads in the fifth set when Hemphill senior Allamah Austin sent a spike to the ground to give the Lady Hornets a 14-11 advantage.

But then senior Mallory Eastland answered with a kill to pull New Waverly to within two.

With an early exit staring them in the face, the Lady Dogs got a big boost from one of their smallest players. One mishit and New Waverly’s season would be done. But Kali Pavelock rose to the occasion and delivered three clean serves, including an ace on her second attempt to tie the game at 14.

“I was scared,” Pavelock admitted. “I didn’t want to mess up. It was nerve-wracking, but I’m glad we ended up winning.”

Hemphill was on the verge of winning the match yet again after Austin delivered another kill, but freshman Baylie Butler’s serve went into the net to tie the game at 15.

Then, Eastland attempted to give New Waverly the advantage with another kill, but the ball hit the net and fell out of bounds.

Again the Lady Hornets were serving for the match. Hemphill and the Lady Dogs volleyed back and forth, but the game drew all square when senior DeAngela Singleton drilled the ball into the net.

With Eastland serving, the Lady Bulldogs wouldn’t be denied as junior Kayla Munoz came up with two big kills to seal the come-from-behind victory.

“My heart was pounding so fast,” Munoz said. “I was just so nervous.”

After struggling through most of the first three games, New Waverly faced elimination after trailing two games to one.

But then midway in the fourth game, the Lady Bulldogs came to life and began to pull away.

“We started talking more and hustling,” Munoz said. “Our intensity went way up. We just started to work as one more. It’s what we’ve been working for all season. We’re happy about that.”

New Waverly held a slight 9-7 lead in the fourth game, but then rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to put pressure on the Lady Hornets. Lady Dogs senior Alena Salinas ended the set with an ace and gave New Waverly some momentum heading into the final game.

“We’ve been down in other games all season and we never stopped,” Hill added. “The girls are fighters. To win in the playoffs, we’re going to have to fight and never give up. They did it tonight. They never stopped.”

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