Houston coach Amy McNew called timeout. Her team, which had cruised to an opening set victory, dropped the second set and trailed 8-5 in the third. She was looking for the perfect words to turn things around.
“I asked (assistant coach) Viki (Castleman) what I could say to make them mad,” McNew said. “She said, ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t know either. I had to think of something on the way out there.”
Whatever McNew said worked.
Led by senior Erica Keeney, the Lady Tigers scored 14 unanswered points to regain control of the match and down Licking 25-13, 21-25, 25-11 Monday night inside Hiett Gymnasium.
Keeney was the driving force as Houston (3-5) took control. She had four kills and a block during the spurt as the Lady Tigers won their home opener.
“We kind of go as Erica goes a lot of times. If she’s having a good game, we feed on that,” McNew said.
It was a much-needed victory for Houston, which also defeated Licking in the season opener. The Lady Tigers lost all four of their matches Saturday at the Branson Tournament.
Keeney and Sarah Pierce had nine kills apiece. Tory Burgess, who had 18 assists, and Kaitlyn Kell added five kills each.
Houston took control from the get-go against its county rivals. Kell had a pair of kills as the Lady Tigers scored 14 of the first 18 points of the match and cruised in the first set.
The second set began in similar fashion. Pierce had back-to-back kills during a 6-0 run to give Houston an early 6-3 advantage. The Lady Tigers still led 10-9 on Keeney’s block.
But the advantage quickly disappeared. Licking scored the next eight points for a 17-10 lead. Houston closed the gap to 21-19 before Licking scored four of the next six points to close out the set.
“I was disappointed in our level of intensity,” McNew said.
Licking carried its momentum into the final set and led 8-5 when McNew called timeout.
Keeney had a block and consecutive kills early in the 14-point rally. Lainey Casper’s kill made it 11-8, and the Lady Tigers were ahead 18-8 on another Keeney kill.
“When we picked it up and decided to play, I was happy with what I saw,” McNew said.
At Branson, the Lady Tigers lost matches in pool play to Nixa (25-12, 25-10), Holden (25-22, 25-21) and Fair Grove (25-20, 25-18).
Houston faced Fair Grove again in bracket play and despite taking the opening set, lost 22-25, 25-16, 25-17.
Keeney had eight kills and Pierce added five in the second matchup with Fair Grove. Burgess had 16 assists. Sophomore Alexa Ichord had five kills and 10 assists.
McNew said her team needed to improve its hitting, focus and intensity to become more consistent.
“They are very capable of achieving good things,” McNew said. “But they have to understand that they have to play from point one to point 25 for two sets in a row.”
JV VOLLEYBALL: Emilee Reese had six kills and Amber Sillyman had 15 assists as the JV Lady Tigers beat Licking 25-21, 25-18 Monday night to remain unbeaten.
Sillyman, Kenzie Scheets, Sarah Garrett and Demi Pittman had four kills apiece for Houston (4-0).
“That group of girls is very competitive,” McNew said. “They tend to be able to do what it takes to win a match.”
