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November 7, 2007

Final word belongs to Lady Hornets

AHS tops Van when it counts the most to advance to regional semis

By Benny Rogers

CORSICANA — The most successful volleyball season in Athens High School history continues.

And it did so with the sweet taste of revenge.

Getting a third shot at District 14-AAA champion Van, the Athens Lady Hornets made the most of it Tuesday night with a four-game decision (25-17, 25-10, 17-25, 25-14) over the Lady Vandals in regional quarterfinal action at the Wolens Center on the campus of Navarro College.

The win improved first-year coach Tosha Spain’s Lady Hornets to 31-8 on the year and earned them a trip to the Region II-AAA Tournament Friday and Saturday at Texas A&M-Commerce.;

The Lady Hornets are scheduled to play Royse City in semifinal action Friday, either at 6 or 8 p.m. Royse City defeated Frisco Wakeland in four games (14-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14) Tuesday night. White Oak (39-1) will face either Commerce or Lovejoy in the other semifinal. The regional title game is scheduled Saturday at 2 p.m.

Van, which twice defeated AHS (in three games at Van and five games at Athens) during the 14-AAA schedule, saw its season conclude with a 19-15 mark.

The Lady Hornets were on their game from the start, not leaving anything to chance.

Behind its dynamic duo of seniors Allison Sanders and Holly Eckert, AHS rolled to wins in the first two games to take the pressure off. After Van rallied to win Game 3, the Lady Hornets raised their game to another level to easily take the fourth game and advance to the regional tournament for the first time in school history.

While Sanders and Eckert were putting on a killing clinic, combining for 38 kills, Bailey Starkes schooled the Lady Vandals from the service line. She served 13 straight points, including six aces, in Game 4 to stake AHS to a commanding 16-1 lead.

Kathryn Schoonover also came up big for the Lady Hornets. She had 31 assists, the majority of which were sets for Sanders (21 kills) and Eckert.

Starkes finished with 20 service points.

Game 1 was closely contest until Starkes served three straight points for an 18-14 Lady Hornet lead. Brandi Newbill settled the issue with four straight service points.

Eckert came up with seven service winners, including a pair of aces, to put the Lady Hornets in command early in the second game. Schoonover had four straight later on.

Van rallied in the third game behind hard-hitting Shannon Hullum. She finished with 11 kills and two blocks, most of which were in Game 3.

Game 4 was never close, thanks to the serving dominance of Starkes.

The four games took 1:15 to complete.

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