Saturday, April 27, 2024
Less than two weeks into their season, the Gatesville Lady Hornets have played 11 games and are in the midst of their second tournament in as many weekends.
Gatesville opened their season with wins over University High and Temple High before turning in a 3-5 showing at the AISD Jason Landers Invitational in Austin.
The Hornets dropped their first three group stage matches to Austin LASA (25-18, 25-19), Pflugerville Connally (25-16, 25-17), and Copperas Cove (25-10, 25-17) then beat Travis Early College HS (25-6, 25-14) and Manor New Tech (25-11, 25-11) in the division round.
They finished with a final round of bracket play where they fell to Huntsville (30-29, 25-19) and Arlington Lamar (25-17, 25-11) before finishing with a win over Lopez Early College HS (22-25, 25-20, 25-21).
On Aug. 15, the Lady Hornets fell to Belton in three sets 25-21, 25-12, 25-14. All 11 games the Lady Hornets have played thus far have been against 5A or 6A schools.
“We go to the Austin Tournament to see some tough competition, which we did,” said head coach Janey Weber. “Playing against bigger, competitive schools was an eye opener for all of us. We want to play teams that are going to push us and prepare us for district. The teams we faced made us think, be scrappy, be vocal, and be quick.”
Weber said that there were positives from the three-day, eight-game sprint in Austin but also plenty to work on back in Gatesville.
“Our energy was not where it needed to be throughout the tournament, which is something we want to get consistent the further we move along into our season. As a team we struggled at the beginning, but I felt like by the end of the tournament we came out with great insight. This tournament showed us specific things we need to improve to reach the level we want to be at, along with helping the girls develop chemistry,” she said.
Emma Pollard turned in 12 kills and seven blocks in Gatesville’s win over Temple and Weber specifically cited the progress of senior Barrett Boyd and freshman Anna McPherson as they adjust to the setter position.
“Both of our setters are doing a good job of transitioning into that role - which is a tough role to fill. They both saw a lot of reps this first tournament and have improved quite a bit,” she said. “The girls are starting to play well together and connect.”
The Lady Hornets hosted the Gatesville Invitational on Thursday with matches against Lampasas, Waco High, and McGregor. They will travel to Academy for a match on Aug. 22 then finish the tournament season at the Academy Tournament.
