With early-season aspirations of competing for the District 6-4A volleyball championship, the Brownwood Lady Lions instead are headed to the playoffs for the ninth straight year – and 17th of the last 18 – as the league’s fourth seed after Tuesday’s 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 loss to Glen Rose at Warren Gym.
Brownwood (19-11, 3-5) is next slated to face District 5-4A champion Iowa Park (30-12), a team the Lady Lions defeated twice at the Glen Rose tournament on Aug. 20-21 en route to the silver bracket championship. The bi-district playoff match will take place at 7 p.m. Monday in Breckenridge.
“District was not what we wanted this year,” said Lady Lions third-year head coach Allison Smith. “We had a lot more potential than what we came out and performed like. But seeding-wise in the playoffs, this is one of the better seedings. It sounds awkward to say, but we get to play a team we’ve already seen and hopefully get back in our rhythm, and we wouldn’t face Decatur in the second round this time. That being said, nothing matters if we don’t start playing like we did in pre-district.”
Against Glen Rose (23-12, 5-3) on Senior Night, the Lady Lions were sparked offensively by Olivia Fowler and Kylie Morris with seven kills apiece, Jaylen Savage and Tessa Goodwin with six each, and Gracie Boswell with three.
Kylie Wooten distributed 23 assists while Goodwin chipped in one.
Aces were served by Fower, Boswell, Kylie Wooten and Kassidy Wooten, each with one.
Defensively, Kassidy Wooten registered 20 digs followed by Goodwin and Kylie Wooten each with 14, Fowler with 12, Morris and Boswell with nine apiece, Molly Oliver with two, and Savage and Ashlyn Harris both with one.
Savage collected four blocks at the net while Morris added a pair and Goodwin and Boswell were each credited with one.
Smith felt the difference between the two teams Tuesday night was, “Just the energy and the fight. Not that my girls don’t have that, it’s just that we’ve hit a wall lately. Volleyball is such a game of momentum and it’s hard whenever the other team has momentum and things fall their way and they don’t fall our way.”
