TUSCOLA – The Bangs Lady Dragons’ first appearance in the UIL state volleyball playoffs since 2019 was short-lived, as the Miles Lady Bulldogs earned a 25-22, 25-15, 25-15 victory in Class 2A Region I bi-district action Monday night.
“I definitely felt like Miles came out ready to play, and we were ready to play that first set,” said Bangs head coach Cheyanne Lovelady. “It was a super close game, but at times we were more inconsistent than Miles was. We both played smart volleyball, but at times we got in our own heads.”
District 6-2A third seed Bangs (12-19) rallied from deficits of 5-0 and 18-14 in the first set to grab a 22-20 lead late, where the momentum shifted in the favor of District 5-2A second seed Miles (12-15) and the Lady Dragons never got it back.
“We struggled when we had points that didn’t go our way tonight,” Lovelady said. “I think it got in all our heads. We kept talking about shaking it off and not letting calls that didn’t go our way get to us, but it’s hard to keep momentum when breaks aren’t coming your way.”
In front 22-21, the Lady Dragons appeared to push the lead to 23-21 when a Bangs spike was blocked and landed out of bounds. However, the call was disputed, the referees convened and the point was replayed. Miles wound up taking that point, and the next three, to capture the set, 25-22.
Bangs’ frustration appeared to carry over into the second set, as the Lady Dragons surrendered the first eight points – a string of 13 consecutive for Miles over the first and second sets. The Lady Dragons got as close as 17-12, but no closer.
In the finale, the Lady Dragons trailed just 6-4 until Miles reeled off seven of the next eight points, boosting the advantage to 13-5. Bangs’ final surge came with a string of four consecutive points that trimmed the deficit to 19-14. But the Lady Dragons managed just one point the rest of the way.
Neeley Bradley and Jadyn Miller led Bangs with six kills each trailed by Kasey Solis with two, and Raylee Hutchins and Laynie Evans with one apiece.
Bradley and Julianna Ethridge each served a pair of aces while Miller added one.
Bradley also led the way with eight assists trailed by Evans with five and Ava Boren with one.
Defensively, Miller and Evans each logged 13 digs trailed by Ethridge with 12, Hutchins with nine, Boren with four, and Bradley with three.
At the net, Solis and Boren were credited with two blocks apiece followed by one each from Bradley and Hutchins.
Miles moves on to face either District 8-2A champion Hamilton or 7-4A fourth seed Olney in the area round, while Bangs begins looking ahead to next season.
“These girls did awesome and improved every game,” Lovelady said. “They’re working really hard, but we’re definitely not where we want to be. Our goals are super high and my team is very young – most all of them are sophomores, I have one junior and I’m losing one senior. Having such a young team on the court, I think we’re going to be able to build off this and be a threat to everyone next year.”
