Lady Bucks earn road wins at Eastland, Comanche

The Lady Buckaroos have solid footing on the final playoff spot in the district. Following wins last week over Eastland and Comanche, the Lady Bucks remain a game ahead of Early in the District 8-3A standings with three matches remaining. For the first match of the week, the Lady Bucks won in three sets at Eastland, 26-24, 25-14, 25-21 on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The Lady Bucks closed the week with a win in four sets at Comanche, 26-24, 25-14, 25-21.

The Lady Bucks traveled to Eastland looking to gain consistency and pick up an important win in a three-team race for fourth place in the district. The Lady Bucks continue a fight with the Lady Mavericks and Early for the final playoff spot from the district.

The first set in Eastland lived up to its billing of two teams battling for the playoffs. Neither side could build a lead larger than four points and needed more than 25 points to determine a winner. The Lady Mavericks held an advantage in the middle portion of the set, leading by four points at 18-14.

Haylie Mendoza scored on a kill to begin a 6-1 run for the Lady Buckaroos to eventually draw even at 19-19. Both teams drew even again at 21-21, 22-22 and 24-24. 

With the Lady Bucks tailing 24-22, Cabel Perkins and Zaea Ragle scored kills on back-to-back rallies to draw even at 24-24. A pair of errors by the Lady Mavericks handed the Lady Bucks the first set win of the match.

Although the Lady Mavericks went ahead early in the second set with a service ace from Jaci Darr, the Lady Bucks jumped ahead 4-1 quickly with a pair of errors from the Lady Mavericks and a pair of kills from Ragle. Later in the set a kill from Roberts gave the Lady Bucks a 10-5 lead and drew a timeout from the Lady Mavericks. 

After the stoppage, the Lady Mavericks earned a pair of kills from Ava Smith to reduce their deficit to three points. The three-point deficit was as close as the Lady Mavericks could get for the duration of the second set. The Lady Bucks, mostly by taking advantage of errors by the Lady Mavericks, extended their lead to 11 points by the end of the set. 

The Lady Bucks controlled the opening of the final set by taking an early 6-3 advantage with kills from Preslie Malcuit and Mendoza. The kill from Mendoza gave the Lady Bucks their first lead of the set and was followed with a pair of errors from the Lady Mavericks to draw a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Lady Mavericks responded with a 5-0 run to take an 8-6 lead. Outscoring the Lady Mavericks 13-8 out of the timeout, the  Lady Bucks lead 19-16 at the next timeout. The Lady Bucks only needed a one-point advantage over the next 11 rallies to close out the match.

Roberts, Mendoza and Ragle each scored six kills for the Lady Bucks. Mendoza added 16 digs. Joni Jackson led the setters with 13 assists.

“We haven’t played down to the level we played at home against Eastland as we did since then,” Lady Bucks coach Krista Wilcox said. “Our girls have just picked it up and wanted this. They just played so hard. …(a win) in three is absolutely what you have to do (against Eastland). You can’t play around with them and go four. You’ve gotta play three and go home.”

After dropping the opening set against the Maidens on Friday, Oct. 13 at Comanche, the Lady Bucks regrouped to win the next three to earn their third straight win. After giving up the first set, the Lady Bucks held the Maidens to 20 or fewer points over the next three. Roberts, Mendoza and Ragle combined for 43 kills, led by 15 from Roberts. Jackson led the setters with 14 assists. Defensively, Kaysi Wilcox led the way with 13 digs.

“The girls came out a little slow but soon got back into their level of play. They had to make adjustments as the flow of the game was different from some of our district opponents. They soon found their rhythm and played to finish,” Coach Wilcox wrote.

The Lady Bucks return to the court Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m. when they host Milsap. Friday, Oct. 20 the Lady Bucks will travel to Peaster. The district schedule concludes Tuesday, Oct. 24 when the Lady Bucks host Dublin in the annual senior night match.