Lake Travis advances to state volleyball finalwww.statesman.com/sports/highschool/lake-travis-advances-to-state-volleyball-final-1977499.htmlSAN MARCOS β Cassie Wang said the sting of losing didn't hurt as badly as she thought it might. Losing a set, that is.
Wang, a senior setter for Lake Travis' volleyball team, said the Lady Cavaliers "regrouped" after losing a set for the first time this year. They overcame rare adversity to post a 25-11, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22 victory over Richmond Foster on Thursday night in a Class 4A semifinal at the UIL state tournament inside Strahan Coliseum.
Lake Travis advanced to the Class 4A title match on Saturday against Richardson Pearce (36-13). The Cavaliers (49-0) will be seeking their second straight 4A state championship.
Lake Travis' unblemished string of victories in sets played this season came to an end at 119, when Foster defeated the Lady Cavs 25-22 to tie the match 1-1.
"It didn't hurt as badly as I imagined it would," said Wang, referring to the second set. "It was like, 'Oh well, it happens.'"
That's what coach Jennifer Kazmierski told her team after Foster tied the match .
"I told them it was never our goal to finish the season undefeated in sets," she said. "It was our goal to win the state tournament."
The outcome was not determined until senior Sierra Patrick β set up by libero Mackenzie Mayo's perfect pass β recorded an emphatic kill through the middle of Foster's front line to end it.
"We couldn't let (losing one set) get to us," Patrick said. "We just had to regather ourselves."
Foster enjoyed momentary momentum after splitting the first two sets, but it had no answer for University of Texas-bound outside hitter Amy Neal, who led both teams with 24 kills and 17 digs.
With Lake Travis trailing 11-10 in the final set, the Lady Cavs took the lead on consecutive kills by Neal, a botched pass by Foster and a kill by Patrick that made it 14-11 .
Although Foster kept it close, the Lady Cavs would not be denied a second straight trip to the state finals.
Patrick complemented Neal's performance with 11 kills and seven digs, while setter Katy Beals and middle blocker Claire McCown chipped in seven kills apiece. Beals had 33 assists to lead Lake Travis' defense, and Wang added 15.
Kazmierski said she was encouraged by the way her team responded after losing a set. "I really think the players put too much pressure on themselves to win every set instead of just thinking about winning the match," she said.
Pearce's victory sets up a rematch of last year's epic semifinal match against Lake Travis. The Cavaliers rallied for a 25-27, 20-25, 25-12, 25-17, 15-8 victory en route to the 4A championship.
"We let them off the hook last year," Pearce coach Jason Nicholson said.
"Hmmm...I thought Clem posted that they lost a set to 5A Tomball earlier this year? I think it is in the Calallen Vollyball thread"