In a competitive showdown between two local rivals, Houston High School’s volleyball team secured a 3-1 victory over Summersville on Tuesday.
Houston dropped the first set 17-25, but the team would immediately respond by taking the second set, 25-20.
Despite the Lady Wildcats’ best efforts, Houston’s attack was too much, taking the third and fourth sets 25-16 and 25-20, respectively.
Junior Kayla Wagner led the Lady Tiger offense with a career-high 24 kills, tacking on two blocks as well. Senior Morgan McKinney also set a career-high with 30 assists, beating her record of 29 set last year at Thayer.
Other key contributors included senior Makinley Aaron who had three aces and 24 digs, and junior Kynlee Weaver who had two blocks.
In their match at Licking, the Lady Tigers would fail to complete a Wildcat sweep – losing a four-set match 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25 – on Thursday.
“I thought tonight we just didn’t finish,” said Head Coach Julia Sloan. “We have to mentally prepare to finish tough, tight games.”
After two sets, the match was tied at a set apiece. Houston jumped out to an 18-14 lead in the third set, but Licking responded immediately with an 11-2 run to take the set.
In the fourth set, the Lady Tigers fell behind early before bringing the score to 23-24, ultimately losing the match.
“We will learn from this and hopefully it will fuel our fire,” said Sloan.
It was a group effort led by seniors Aaron (27 digs) and McKinney (21 assists) in the road match. Three players recorded an ace – McKinney, junior Gracyn McNiell and senior Elysia Graciano. Three recorded a block – senior Carli Cummins-Drake and juniors Weaver and Wagner. Wagner led the offensive attack with 18 kills.
“The group of girls this year are all hard working athletes,” said McKinney. “We are close knit and back each other up. I think we can go far this year and do great big things together. I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes with my teammates by my side.”
Any time the two county rivals meet, it’s a fierce match, and this time was no different after Houston defeated Licking to win a district championship last year, despite losing to the Lady Wildcats in their two regular season matches. Coming into Thursday’s match, Licking lost a close five-set match to an undefeated Mountain Grove squad on Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers (3-1) travel to Plato Tuesday and then hit the road again Thursday to face Willow Springs. The team will play in the Cabool Invitational Tournament Saturday, Sept. 21.