In one week, the Houston volleyball team knocked off a bigger school on the road and had tournament success that should improve their district seed.
The successful showings began last Tuesday as the Lady Tigers edged West Plains 25-20, 18-25, 25-23. The win came just three days after HHS had lost in straight sets to the Zizzers at the Rolla Tournament.
“They were ready to redeem themselves,” Lady Tigers coach Barry Wheeler said. “The girls were really focused on the task at hand.”
Sarah Kelley led HHS (9-11-3) with seven kills. Camryn Scheets had a team-high eight kills and three of the Lady Tigers’ five aces.
Wheeler said the victory over the team led by former Houston coach Amy Mcnew was a team effort.
“I really didn’t need to make any coaching adjustments during the match, the girls took care of it,” he said. “Everyone contributed across the board from the players on the court, the players in reserve, the scouts and the JV that cheered them on.”
On Saturday, Houston had its first success in a tournament this season. After going 0-6-2 in their previous two tournaments, HHS beat Cabool in straight sets and tied Willow Springs at Licking. Those matches were sandwiched around a loss to reigning state champion Mountain View-Liberty and close defeat to Rolla.
Beating Cabool and outscoring Willow Springs 50-44 should aid Houston’s seed for district play.
“We definitely competed at a much higher level,” Wheeler said. “We still have room for improvement, but it was a very encouraging weekend.”