Erica Keeney had eight kills and three blocks in the Houston Lady Tigers’ 25-22, 18-25, 25-11 road loss Tuesday against West Plains.
It was the second straight close defeat for the Lady Tigers. On Thursday, Liberty squeaked past Houston 25-23, 25-23.
“They just need to relax and play the whole game the same way and stop worrying about not winning,” Lady Tigers coach Debbie James said.
Sarah Pierce had a team-high eight assists against West Plains. Pierce and Haylee Kell had seven digs apiece.
After hanging tight in the opening two sets, the Lady Tigers (10-9-1) fell behind 12-0 in the decisive third game. James burnt two timeouts attempting to slow the rally.
“Again, we played top notch ball the first two games, then just stopped,” James said.
JUNIOR VARSITY: The JV Lady Tigers went 1-2-1 Saturday at the Waynesville Tournament.
Houston defeated St. James (27-27, 26-24) and tied with Columbia Hickman (19-25, 25-22). The Lady Tigers lost to Waynesville (25-22, 25-21) and were defeated by Camdenton (25-17, 25-16) in the first round.
Amber Sillyman had team-highs of eight kills, 20 assists and 12 aces during the tournament. Demi Pittman and Emilee Reese had six kills apiece. Reese added five aces, and Kayla Herndon had a team-best 22 digs.
On Tuesday, the JV Lady Tigers lost 25-17, 25-18 at Liberty.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: Taylor Franklin had nine kills, and Sydney Cremer added nine assists as the Houston eighth grade volleyball team outlasted Ava 24-26, 25-17, 28-26 last Tuesday for its second victory of the season.
“We played hard the entire game and never gave up,” Lady Tigers coach Jodie Tottingham said. “I was so proud of them.”
On Tuesday night, Winona defeated Houston 25-7, 25-10.
Kylee Elmore was the seventh grade’s high scorer in a 25-18, 25-8 loss Tuesday to Winona.
Both middle school teams failed to place in the Cabool Tournament on Saturday.
