Playing without multi-threat setter Ibis Alvarado, out indefinitely with a knee injury, the Brownwood Lady Lions conclude the pre-district portion of their volleyball schedule with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-16 loss to Burnet Tuesday night at Warren Gym.
“Burnet is a very solid team that beat Stephenville early in the year at the Wimberley tournament,” said Lady Lions third-year head coach Allison Smith. “They’re very strong defensively, but here were a few times where we got some really good kills. I’m not going to take anything away from them, but I would like to see more consistency on our end, but I thought that there were times where we looked like we’re more capable of. Our blocking really needs some work, being more aggressive and getting our spacing down, and just being more of a presence there.”
Hannah Dean paced Brownwood’s attack with nine kills followed by Ava Choate with five; Aubrie Felux, Kassidy Wooten, Miranda Northcutt, and Aniah Hines with two apiece; and Emma Ringer with one.
Ringer dished out 20 assists while Wooten contributed one.
Deen served five aces, while Choate, Wooten and Ringer tacked on two apiece.
Defensively, Wooten registered 29 digs trailed by Deen with nine, Ringer with six, Choate and Molly Oliver with two each, Felux with three, and Northcutt and Hines with one apiece.
At the net, Northcutt collected a pair of blocks while Choate and Felux added one each.
The Lady Lions (4-15) open District 6-4A action at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Glen Rose.
Looking ahead to the district slate, Smith said, “I want our girls to go in with confidence because I have all the confidence in the world in them. I know after studying film there’s potential and some good opportunities in these games. We might be overlooked in our district just based off our record, but we’ve been playing some really good teams. Our district is hard, it will be very competitive – Graham, Glen Rose and Stephenville are powerhouses and Mineral Wells is holding their own as well. It’s going to be a challenge but it’s also a fun opportunity to see what these girls are made of and capable of.”
