Lady Bucks riding two-game district win streak

BANGS— The Breckenridge High School volleyball team seems to have caught fire at just the right time as the Lady Buckaroos are riding a two-game district win streak as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.

The Lady Buckaroos rolled through the Bangs Lady Dragons in four sets after falling in the first set 25-17, only to sweep the next three sets 25-19, 25-12 and 25-13.

“We do this a lot of Saturdays,” senior outside hitter Maria Alvarado said. “We get really groggy and it takes us a while to get back up … In that second set we just got to it.”

The Lady Buckaroos seemed in for a dogfight in the second set, but senior middle blocker Makenna Moser and sophomore middle blocker Calista Lambert’s kills allowed them to pull away. Although known for their tough middle blocking and outside hitting, the Lady Buckaroos proved they could score from the serving line as well with Moser and Alvarado each picking up crucial aces before sophomore outside hitter Madison Stanley set up match point with an ace. Moser sealed the victory with a kill.

In the third set, both teams kept it close but mistakes on the receive proved too costly for the Lady Dragons. Kills by Stanley and Moser allowed the Lady Buckaroos to pull away with a 10-point lead before a kill by senior outside hitter Kelli Wilcox set up match point and was ultimately decided by a net ball. With momentum now in Breckenridge’s favor, the Lady Bucks jumped out to an 8-1 lead after five consecutive aces by Alvarado. 

“When I get on a roll, I get on a roll,” senior outside hitter Maria Alvarado said. “They called a time-out and I missed that last serve. I was just making sure I was hitting the ball at the right time and it was going over straight. I executed it pretty well.”

A kill by Lambert sealed the set and the game for the Lady Buckaroos, who are now 4-2 in conference play as they look to avenge a three-set sweep by Commanche, who sit atop the District 7 standings with a two game lead.

“We are trying out some new stuff like single blocking and covering as much of the floor as we can,” Alvarado said. “They hit the ball in a lot of spots we’ve never really been used to. They get everything up and we need to be a bit scrappier than usual, but we’re working on it.”

With the Lady Bucks facing the top team in the district Tuesday, Breckenridge coach Jeana Yarbrough said their focus will continue to be maintaining momentum and not allowing other teams to go on long runs. 

“We have been working on that in practice,” Yarbrough said. “Giving the other side only 3 points and then we have to do something about it. We’ve been working on that a whole lot and trying to stop the bleeding. We didn’t (Saturday). There were a couple of times, especially in the first set and a little in the second set, that we let them have a little bit more momentum. We’ve focused on trying to stop their momentum and trying to get back on top quickly.”