TEXARKANA, Texas -- Liberty-Eylau continued to go through some progression pains as it fell to Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill, 25-14, 25-15, 25-12, at the Rader Dome in a varsity volleyball match on Tuesday.
"We tried a different rotation and I feel like it went pretty well," Lady Leopards' head coach Maya Polley said. "We have to work through some internal problems that we are having right now. We have to get our confidence back up because we have had a lot of losses so far this season. Once we get the confidence up, we will do better than what we have done so far."
Liberty-Eylau got on an early roll in the third set, taking a 5-1 lead with Kimora Norman serving. During the five-point spurt, Ja'Kai Ray had a tip, a block and a kill down the right baseline for a winner.
But the Lady Red Devils got into a rhythm and rattled off 12 consecutive points to grab a 13-5 edge. The Leopards outscored Chapel Hill, 3-1, on the next four points but the Red Devils scored four straight to extend their lead, 18-8. Nine of the last 11 points scored by Chapel Hill came on unforced Liberty-Eylau hitting errors.
The second set was the closest set of the match. Ray fired in an ace from the server's box and then another to give the Leopards an early 7-4 lead. But some points later, the Red Devil found a groove once more and built a 14-9 advantage after being down 9-7. During the rally, Chapel Hill put down six kills.
Ray popped down a kill later in the set that inched Liberty-Eylau closer, 16-12. But after the kill, the Red Devils scored five consecutive points and took a 21-12 lead. The Leopards attempt to claw back fell short.
Norman put down a kill for the first point of the match for Liberty-Eylau. Teammates Ray and Kaci Otwell combined for a block to give the Leopards a 2-0 lead.
Chapel Hill started to put together scoring spurts as it scored five in a row to take an 8-3 edge. Later in the set, the Red Devils scored four straight to go up 14-9. The closest Liberty-Eylau got to Chapel Hill in the set was trailing 10-9 after Lakyn Johnson fired down a kill on the right baseline.
The Red Devils put the set out of reach when it rattled off six points to pad its lead, 22-11. The Leopards had a shaky start as they had 18 unforced errors in the first set.
Liberty-Eylau is open Friday and plays at PTAA-Fate at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Liberty-Eylau's Kimora Norman prepares to strike the ball as a Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill player defends Tuesday during a varsity volleyball match at the Rader Dome in Texarkana, Texas. (Photo by Kevin Sutton/TXKsports.com)