By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE —
The Lady Hornets knew something good would come out of Tuesday’s Dads ‘n’ Dolls volleyball match.
Thanks to the hard play and hustle from a feisty bunch of fathers, the Lady Hornets got more out of their first-ever dads versus daughters fundraiser than they ever expected.
“This was good for us,” senior Leslie Hoke said. “It reminded us that volleyball is fun. It should be fun no matter who we’re playing.”
The Lady Hornets and their dads had a big time Tuesday playing for bragging rights while also raising money for breast cancer awareness. More than $350 was donated by family, friends and fans of the Lady Hornets, who will hold a Dig Pink fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure late next month.
After the freshman and junior varsity teams swept a pair of single-game matches from their fathers early Tuesday evening, the Lady Hornets and their dads took the floor for the prime-time event. Immediately, the Dads showed they came to play.
Coach Jay Oliphant, who was filling in on the Dads’ team, skied high above the net and sent a no-look spike to the floor on the other side.
“The girls were kind of scared of Coach O. after that first hit,” Lady Hornets coach Stephanie Branch said. “I told them it’s just like playing one of those Klein schools or Cy-Fair. You can’t be intimidated.”
The Lady Hornets responded like champs. Efficiently, they ran their offense, stuck to their game plan and kept the Dads on their toes by moving the ball all over the court. The Dads surprised their daughters by racing around, chasing loose balls, sometimes even hitting the floor to keep a play alive.
“That was unexpected,” senior Kasey Haralson said. “I had no idea they would try so hard and do so well.”
Senior Kaylynne Wright added, “They’re probably going to need wheelchairs to get to work tomorrow, but they played a good match.”
After the Lady Hornets won the first game 25-17, the Dads regrouped and gave the girls all they could handle in the second set in a best-of-three match. The Dads rallied from a 23-18 deficit and tied the score at 24. Fortunately for the Lady Hornets, referee Ray Black hit Oliphant with an in-the-net call on what would have been a go-ahead point for the Dads.
Wright finished off the Dads with a kill from the left side, and a fun evening came to a fitting finish.
“We were kind of getting scared there in that second game,” Haralson said. “We thought we were going to have to play a third game.”
“We had a ball,” said Bill Mizell, freshman Lindsey Mizell’s father. “We made it respectable, too.”
Another fun and productive evening — the Lady Hornets had one last week when New Caney was a no-show for a nondistrict match — Branch said that’s what she was hoping for when she set up the Dads ‘n’ Dolls match.
“This was fun. It was supposed to be fun,” said Branch, who coached Tuesday’s match like it was the district opener. “But like I told the girls, we can’t forget what we’ve got to do and the goals we’re working toward. We’ve got to execute no matter who we’re playing.
“The Dads did an excellent job, although the refs were pretty lenient with the net calls. ... We’re raising money for a great cause, however, we’re also here to do a job. We wanted to use this as a practice. I was really hoping to get support from the community and the parents and we got both. They were awesome tonight.
“I think we got a lot more out of this than we were expecting.”
