ALBANY—The Brownwood Lady Lions’ resiliency was on full display earlier this month as they clawed their way back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat state-ranked Stephenville at Warren Gym in District 6-4A action on Oct. 6. With the stakes even higher Saturday afternoon in the bi-district round of the playoffs, the Lady Lions once again achieved the improbable.
Trailing two sets to none to the District 5-4A third-seed Vernon Lady Lions, District 6-4A runner-up Brownwood stormed from behind for a 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 17-15 victory to earn its first bi-district title since 2017.
“I’d prefer to win 3-0 but I’ll take it,” said Lady Lions second-year head coach Allison Smith. “This just showed the tenacity of my team. I’ve talked about it in the preseason and in district. They dug deep today and they decided their season was not going to be over.
“In video the I had seen on (Vernon) they did not look like the team that showed up today. They had some really great plays, they had some great saves and really good strengths. All the credit to them, this is the playoffs and you have to expect to see everybody’s best.”
The Lady Lions’ offensive attack was sparked by Jaylen Savage with 18 kills, Katelyn Windham with 17, Ashlyn Storm with 16, Olivia Fowler with nine, Kylie Morris with seven, Tessa Goodwin with five, and Gracie Boswell with one.
Goodwin distributed 57 assists followed by Kylie Wooten with eight and Caitlyn Moody with a pair.
Fowler led Brownwood with six aces trailed by Kylie Wooten with three, and Kassidy Wooten, Morris, Boswell, and Windham with one each.
Defensively, Moody registered 49 digs followed by Boswell with 29, Fowler and Goodwin with 16 each, Becca Church with 12, Windham with five, Morris with four, Kassidy Wooten with three, and Storm and Kylie Wooten with two apiece.
At the net, Savage logged four blocks while Goodwin, Storm and Windham contributed one each.
“We had some mental errors, we weren’t playing our best, we had three that just came back from quarantine and one starter with an upper respiratory infection, but they fought through it and they all pulled through and did amazing today,” Smith said.
Brownwood was its own worst enemy for most of the day, committed 22 service errors including six in the tie-breaking fifth set.
“Our serving is so hit or miss,” Smith said. “I think the most we missed in any game prior was 16. For the girls to come back and still pull through and win, and missing two serves when we had a chance to win the game, that really speaks to the mentality of my team and how well-rounded they are as a group.”
In the final set, Brownwood grabbed a 10-6 lead after a block for a point by Savage, which led to a Vernon timeout. Vernon eventually drew even at 12 but a back row spike from Goodwin pushed the Lady Lions back in front 13-12. All square at 13, a net violation against Vernon gave the Lady Lions a 14-13 edge, but a service error followed. Brownwood again grabbed a 15-14 lead on a kill by Fowler, but another errant serve prolonged the set. Knotted at 15, a kill from Storm put the Lady Lions up 16-15, and Kassidy Wooten followed with an ace to complete the comeback.
Trailing two sets to none, Brownwood extended the match with a four-point victory in the third set. Knotted at 14 after a Lady Lion service error, Brownwood scored the first two of three straight points on kills by Windham, which staked the Lady Lions to a 17-14 lead. Vernon closed the gap to one point on multiple occasions, but Brownwood maintained the advantage the rest of the way.
Brownwood drew even in the fourth set thanks to its most consistent effort of the day. Tied at 8, a kill from Storm triggered a run of five straight points that put the Lady Lions in front 13-8. Fowler served three consecutive aces during the surge. Vernon then crept within 14-13, but a kill from Savage was the first of three points in a row that boosted the lead to 17-13. Still up by four points, 21-17, a kill from Storm, an ace from Windham and a spike by Fowler finished off the fourth set.
“That’s when we limited our serving errors and our hitting errors and we attacked their team,” Smith said. “You can’t go after teams, especially a team like Vernon, and play timid. You have to attack and play your own game. You can’t miss serves, especially in the net, cause the other team doesn’t even have to think about it, it’s a free point.”
The Lady Lions (12-8) – whose last playoff victory also came against Vernon three years ago – will next face state-ranked Decatur (24-1) at 7 p.m. Monday in Glen Rose.
“With all this COVID madness it’s so hard to find a gym so if you find an opening you have to jump on it,” Smith said. “We had that reserved, the Glen Rose coach is in our district so we’ve been talking. We’re excited to go in and play Decatur. It’s going to be a big test and if we win that game there’s really no stopping us.”
