Lady Tiger spikers dealt 24-3A loss by Columbus
By BARRY HALVERSON bhalverson@journal-spectator.com

Staff photo by Mike Konvicka Wharton's Heather Reynolds slams the volleyball over the net.

Wharton showed signs they were ready to take their place as one of the big cats in District 24-3A as they pushed the highly-regarded Columbus Cardinals to four games before accepting their first league loss Friday night at the Wharton High gym.

The Lady Tigers are now 2-1 in district play and 13-9 on the season.

Tuesday night, they will host Columbia in a district game with the varsity match set to start at 7 p.m. Columbus improves to 3-0 against league foes and 25-3 overall.

After dropping the first two games of the match 19-25 and 14-25, the Wharton players showed the killer instinct that head coach Shauna Eller has been looking for this season.

After falling behind early 4-6, Columbus lost their concentration and gave up a quick five-point run to the Lady Tigers.

Two of those points came when Columbus was called for being under the net while another point came when they had a four-hit violation.

Given that burst of momentum, defensive specialist Brittany Gutierrez serve a pair of points with outside hitter Heather Reynolds helping out on the second with a roofing block.

Wharton continued to press its advantage only allowing the Lady Cardinals to score when they forced Lady Tiger side outs.

When in possession of the ball, Wharton was able to regularly hold serve at least once allowing them to push their lead, first to six points, at 20-14 and then up to nine when they reached game point at 24-15. Columbus was able to shave off three points before Wharton closed out a 25-18 win.

"Putting a team away when we have them down is something we've been working hard on in practice," Eller said. "There have been games and matches where we've had a lead and couldn't finish someone off. Doing it to a team like Columbus is a definite improvement in that area."

In the fi- nal game, Wharton rallied several times in the early going, coming from behind to tie the score four times before Columbus finally broke things open with a 10-1 run to push their advantage to 20-11 before closing things out.

Game four followed the same patter as game three with Wharton continually finding themselves on the comeback trail before falling. When able to get into their offense, the Lady Tigers showed they were capable of putting down the kill opportunities but struggled in unsettled situations.

"We've got some athletes on this team," Eller said.

"And a lot of the time the hustle plays go our way but tonight we just couldn't pull them out. In part,

I think game three went our way because we made some of those plays and the girls started having fun.

They're young and when they make a mistake they sometimes dwell on their error. We're at our best when we shake things off and enjoy ourselves."

Reynolds led the Lady Tigers with 16 kills and a pair of block while picking up 13 digs. Shaniqua Dogins matched Reynolds block total while putting down 11 kills of her own in the match. Setter Megan Joost had 34 assists on the night while Vernequa Taylor was the dig leader with 27.

In the final tally, the Lady Cardinals family act of setter Brandy Huskey and outside hitter Elise Huskey was too much too overcome on the night. While no game stats were available on Columbus, Elise Huskey frequently broke tight situations open with pounding hits, most coming off Randy Huskey sets.

"Columbus has a great program and I think its great for the district that we have a team like that to challenge us and the rest of the district," Eller said. "And tonight we proved that we can play them tough which is a positive we can build on for the rest of the season."

- District Roundups -

DISTRICT 24-3A
Columbus (3-0 ) beat Hallettsville 35-32; Next: Plays at ________________________________________________ _Needville Sept. _28.
__ Royal _ (1-1) _ lost _to _Rice Consolidated _36-21; _Next: _Hosts Brazos.
__ Needville (1-0) had _an _open dagee; _Next: Plays _at _ Houston _Sharpstown.
__ Sweeny (1-1) _ lost _to _Brazosport 21-3 ; Next: Plays at Van _Vleck.
__ Wharton _ (0-2) _had an _open _date; _Next: _Plays _at _El _Campo Sept. _21.
__ Columbia _ (0-3) _ _lost _to St. _Pius _42-21; _Next: _Host Sweeny _Sept. _28. ____
_ _ Sealy _ (0-3) _lost to _La Grange. _31-21 _Next: _Hosts Wharton Sept. _28.
__ Stafford _ (0-2) _lost _to _Libert 10-7; Next: _Hosts Houston _Jeff _Davis. _____
DISTRICT 27-2A
__ East _Bernard (2-1) _ beat _Ganado _35-20; _Next: _Plays _at Stockdale. _____
__ Hitchcock (2-1) _beat Anahauc _ 24-12; Next: _Hosts _Houston _Furr
__ Boling _ (1-1) _ _had _an open date; _Next: _Plays at _Louise.
__ Brazos _ (1-2) _lost _to _Palacios _ 34-15; _Next: _Plays _Royal _in _Brookshire.
__ Danbury (0-3) _ lost _to Tidehaven _26-8; _Next: _Plays at _Palacios.
__ Van Vleck _ (1-2) _lost _to _Edna 26-20 _in OT; _Next: Hosts _Sweeny.