The Houston Lady Tigers committed 45 total errors in close road losses this week.
Houston had 25 errors Monday in a 28-30, 25-21, 25-17 loss at Winona. On Tuesday, the Lady Tigers had 20 errors as they dropped a 13-25, 25-21, 25-23 decision at Cabool.
Coach Debbie James said those 45 “free points” are costly in a close match. She said many of the mistakes are coming at the end of the match.
“I told the girls in the locker room after the Cabool game, ‘The bottom line is this, until each of you decide you want to put up a fight at the end of a game, we will not come out on top. It’s that simple,'” James said.
Sarah Pierce and Alexa Ichord had 15 kills apiece in the two defeats. Haylee Kell had 13 assists against Winona, and Pierce had 20 against Cabool.
On Saturday, the Lady Tigers went 1-3 at the Licking Invitational. They defeated Ava 25-13, 25-15 and were beaten by Mountain Grove (25-18, 25-23), Liberty (25-12, 27-26) and Eminence (25-16, 25-18).
Houston led Mountain Grove 23-20 in the second set before missing three serves down the stretch. The Lady Tigers also led Liberty 23-20 in the second set before losing.
Amber Honig and Erica Keeney had 18 kills apiece in the tournament. Honig had nine blocks, and Keeney added eight. Pierce had 32 assists.
Last Wednesday, the Lady Tigers lost 25-5, 26-24 at Mountain Grove.
“I believe in this team and feel that they will eventually decide to be competitive from point one to point 25 every single set,” James said. ” Districts would be a good time to surprise a few teams.”
