PITTSBURG, Texas - New Boston bowed out of the volleyball playoffs on Tuesday.
The Lady Lions fell to White Oak, 25-18, 25-11, 25-21, in a Class 3A area round playoff volleyball match at Jack Arnwine Gym.
New Boston trailed during the entire third set, which did not feature any ties. The Lady Necks built a 5-1 lead early in the set. A Lauren Hurst kill gave the Lions the serve back down 8-5. Hurst put down a kill and Aunisty Dorsey hit in a tip to inch New Boston closer, 8-7.
But the Lions committed seven consecutive unforced errors as the Lady Necks found themselves with an 8-point lead, 15-7. White Oak padded the lead later in the set to go up 20-11.
Hurst sent a booming kill down the left baseline to give New Boston the serve, Megan Daniel served in four straight points to cut the Lady Neck lead down to four, 20-16. During the rally, Hurst had a pair of kills, Maggie Taylor's tip was a winner and White Oak had an error.
The Lady Necks scored to match point, 24-17. The Lions kept fighting to close to within three points at 24-21, but a Lady Neck kill ended the match.
New Boston had 16 unforced errors in the second set and strung together no more than two points in a service turn. White Oak scored eight straight points as it jumped out to a 23-9 lead. The Lions could not bounce back from the 14-point deficit.
The first set featured nine ties at 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13 and 14-all. After the set was knotted at 14, New Boston would not lead again. The Lady Necks scored five consecutive to take a 22-16 lead late in the set. The points came on three Lion hitting errors, a tip and an ace. New Boston was in the net twice and had a hitting error for the last three White Oak points of the set.
Hurst finished with 10 kills for the Lions, while teammate Tamiya Smith had eight. Haley McAlexander had seven service points for New Boston.