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(Photo/Alex Kielar) A pair of Lady Bucks’ front line players, Paisley Thibodeux, left, and Ava Russell, work defensively at the net as they look to block a hit by Comanche during their district opener Tuesday, Sept. 9. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) Analia Palacios bumps the ball during the Lady Bucks’ opening set against Comanche in their district opener Tuesday, Sept. 9. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) Kamden Tidwell goes up for a spike in the Lady Bucks’ district opener at home Tuesday, Sept. 9 in which they fell to the Comanche Maidens in three straight sets. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) Lane Bartoskewitz, left, and Paisley Thibodeux work to get a block at the net for the Lady Bucks during their district opener Tuesday, Sept. 9 against the Comanche Maidens. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) Kamden Tidwell gets ready to serve in the Lady Bucks’ home district opener Tuesday, Sept. 9 against the Comanche Maidens that they dropped in three straight sets.
The Lady Bucks opened up their district schedule hosting the Comanche Maidens, who came in with a 4-2 non-tournament record, in the Athletic and Fine Arts Center. While there were sparks of solid play throughout the Tuesday, Sept. 9 match, the Lady Bucks were ultimately swept in three sets.
They opened the first set, scoring the first three points before allowing four and then scoring another three in a row. The Lady Bucks were able to hold momentum for a while, extending out to a 14-9 lead. But the Maidens then went on a five-point streak to tie the score at 14 all.
After the Maidens’ next serve hit the net, the Lady Bucks next serve went out and then Comanche scored another point to take the lead.
Following some more point trading, the set would be tied once again at 18 all. When it felt that the Lady Bucks could take back momentum, they struggled to stop the Maidens defensively. The Maidens closed the set out on a seven-point streak as they held serve to win, 25-19.
The Lady Bucks got behind the eight ball in the second set and they were helped out by unforced Comanche errors when they did score. There were several instances of long volleys in which the Lady Bucks kept up, but the Maidens had several strong saves to keep it alive and ultimately snag the point.
The Lady Bucks attempted to come back late into the set, but they would fall 25-16 and were down two sets to none.
There was no shortage of energy and effort from the home team in the third set despite the deficit.
They had more sparks of great play from the front line with kills, but the Lady Bucks also had a number of unforced errors that led to points for the visitors.
Kamden Tidwell led the kills with 11, followed by Lane Bartoskewitz with 8. Preslie Malcuit recorded five blocks, Ava Russell had 11 defensive passes and Analia Palacios had 10 assists.
The third set was taken by the Maidens, 25-15, as the match was closed out.
The Lady Bucks travel to Tolar for their second district match Friday, Sept. 12 and then host Eastland and Early next week.
“The Lady Bucks came out strong and fought hard for every point. In the second set, we struggled to get behind with small fixable errors, but came back for a great game,” said Head Coach Latisha Clark. “I am so proud of the girls and the progress they are making. We hope to carry and build on that in each game of District.”
