Published: November 04, 2009 11:00 am      

Weatherford drops early lead, bi-district match to Mansfield Summit in five

HALTOM CITY — The Weatherford Lady Roos showed dominance early in a tightly contested Class 5A bi-district match against the Mansfield Summit Lady Jaguars, Tuesday night.

Taking an early lead in the first game and methodically pulling away, the momentum shifted throughout the match. Weatherford eventually fell to the Lady Jags aggressive play down the stretch, losing the match in five games, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 16-25, 7-15.

"We had a little bit of a letdown late," said Weatherford head coach Kelly McCarter. "We came out on fire in the first game.

"We followed the game plan from our scouting reports and the girls did what I asked them to do. And it helped that Summit was missing some serves and having some miscues."

Game 2 saw the Lady Roos take an early lead, up by five points through the middle of the game, but the Lady Jags tweaked their strategy enough to catch and pass the WHS girls, late.

"Summit made an adjustment in Game 2, putting their stronger rotation against our weaker one," said McCarter. "I put our stronger rotation back against theirs, but some unforced errors hurt us."

After alternating wins in Games 3 and 4, Summit had the momentum going into the 15-point tiebreaker game, and took advantage.

"Once they got the 10-4 point lead in the last game, [Summit] got really aggressive," McCarter said. "Game 5 can go either way in these types of matches."

The Lady Roos could not overcome the early deficit, dropping to 5-0 before getting a serve.

Weatherford graduates 7 seniors and finishes the year at 19-19 overall.

Coach McCarter expressed her pleasure with the experience of being a teacher and mentor for the girls who have ended their volleyball careers at Weatherford High School.

"I thanked our seniors for their commitment and hard work over the years," said McCarter. "These girls are great individuals and they have a lot going for them as they go forward.

"I told them to hold their heads high, because they will have some disappointments in the future, and you take it and move forward.

Weatherford was led offensively by Mackenzie Lankford with 20 kills. Shelby Kell and Shelby Newberry added nine and eight kills respectively. Ashley Reinert led in assists with 23. Shelby Newberry had four aces on the night. Calen Bratcher led in digs with 28. Mackenzie Lankford added 15 digs on the night.