Another one slipped away.
The Odessa High volleyball team took the first set from visiting Midland High on Tuesday night in the OHS Fieldhouse, and seemed poised to take another in a back-and-forth second, but that’s when things unraveled for the Lady Bronchos, and Midland High took over on its way to a four-set victory.
Midland High rattled off five straight points to win the second set then rolled its way to winning 27-29, 25-20, 25-14, 25-17.
Odessa High scored to tie Midland High 20-20 in that second frame, looking to take a two set lead, but the Lady Bulldogs put together their run.
After Midland High bounced back to score the next point, an Odessa High attacking error led to Gentry Foreman’s put-down kill for the Lady Bulldogs, to put Midland High up 23-20.
A Lady Bulldogs kill and another Odessa High attacking error decided the set — and swung momentum decidedly in Midland High’s favor.
“Second set, I believe we still had a lot of fire, we had a lot of energy, and it was just those mistakes at the end that always seem to catch us right at the end,” Odessa High head coach Victoria Smith said, after seeing another chance at her team’s first district win slip away.
Destiny Velasquez led Odessa High with 12 kills, while Katrina Garcia scooped up 37 digs and Brianna McClure set up 18 assists — but that wasn’t enough for Odessa High, which struggled in the third and fourth after losing that second set.
Midland High rolled its momentum right into the third, putting together an eight-point run to move a 7-5 lead to a 14-5 advantage, then roll from there.
Smith said she saw her team play well opposite Midland High, except for in those stretches like that eight-point run for Midland High in the third, or that five-point run for the Lady Bulldogs that closed the second, in which Odessa High fell into droughts and let points pile up.
“Once we get up to four and five (straight points given up), that’s when we find ourselves in this third set and this fourth set,” Smith said.
Odessa High played well enough to capture that first set. At 22-22, Velasquez’s cross-court kill led to her soft tip put-down the next serve to make it 24-22. Midland High bounced back to take the next three points, but Velasquez fired down another kill to get Odessa High back on track at 25-25, and then, after the teams traded points, a Midland High attacking error put Odessa High up 28-27 before Marina Gonzales’ deep send-over forced the Lady Bulldogs into another attacking error to give the Lady Bronchos the frame.
In moments like those, Smith saw signs of improvement from her Lady Bronchos.
“Obviously I’m not happy because we didn’t win — but it’s about the progress that we’re making as a team, as a whole, and that’s what I am happy about,” Smith said.
Odessa High will return to the court to host Amarillo Tascosa at home next Tuesday.
