2008 Woodie Awards
Rambelles are on a roll
Tourney within 'grasp'
By: Aaron Lee, Sports Editor
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Sports
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The 'Belles evened up their conference record to 2-2 with this win. The Lone Star Conference tournament is November 13-15 and with that day rapidly approaching the 'Belles are stepping up their game with every spike.
"We are playing better with every game, the team is coming together and really getting behind each other," junior Brittany McNeal said.
The scoring was led by Junior Kimber Duncan who demolished the EMNU defense with an outstanding 11 kills and match high 16 digs. McNeal had 10 kills and led all attackers with a .553 hit percentage on Saturday's slaughter.
"Our defense was playing very well, it makes it a lot easier to win when the other team has trouble putting scoring," McNeal said.
ASU out hit Eastern New Mexico (.210 to .117) and put up 45 kills while ENMU only had 29.
"All these games are getting us ready for the conference tournament," McNeal said. "So every time we come out on the court we try to improve on every aspect of the game."
The 'Belles came out strong and set the tone for the game early. They started with a 10-4 lead in the first set. ASU also hit .292 during that first match. That momentum carried through the other two sets.
"We knew what to expect because we played this team earlier in the season," junior Alaine Sivells said. "The team fought back in the third match to finish strong, ENMU took the lead but we came right back and ended the game."
The third set was the most crucial. ENMU took the lead, and held it to the 24 point. ASU answered back and took the lead to win 28-26 to end the game. The 'Belles finished out the match on three kills by Sivells.
The 'Belles had a close lose to the Falcons on Tuesday in a hard fought four-set game.
The scores were 19-25, 18-25, 25-23 and 23-25. The 'Belles won the third set and looked great while doing it. The first two sets were ASU's for the taking, but the Falcons took advantage of the attack errors by the 'Belles.
"There was a big lack of effort on our part. There were quite a few balls that we could have run through to get," senior Tess Brindock said.
The 'Belles started off with a commanding lead in the first set 10-4, but the Falcons quickly turned that around and before the crowd knew it the score was 12-11 forcing ASU to use their first time-out.
"We have to execute in all aspects of the game if we want to win. We weren't disciplined on defense and that's something we need to work on," Brindock said.
In the second match UTPB jumped out to an early lead of 9-3 which forced ASU to burn another timeout.
"Wham Bam thank you Ma'ma" yelled the announcer as McNeal started off the third set by spiking a Falcon defender straight in the face. The 'Belles jumped out to a 10-2 lead after Mcneal's face smashing spike. Four aces from Duncan helped ASU win that third set.
"The first two games we played hard but not smart, we realized that the set was a must win," said freshman Cara Turney. "Little mistakes is how we lost this game, the errors cannot happen."
In the fourth set, Brindock started the set in the same manner as McNeal with a spike that found its way to a Falcon defenders nose.
"We can't give the other team any points, we have been inconsistent from game to game. We are improving, but the errors need to be fixed," Turney said.
The fourth set was a tight one. It went back and forth with five lead changes. The game came down to a final serve and the volley went back and forth but unfortunately ASU couldn't pull out the win.
"By the end of the season our team goal is 20 wins, and of course the conference tournament, which is well within our grasp," Turney said.
The 'Belles are heading to Pittsburg, Kan., for their next four matches as part of the Pittsburg State Classic. ASU will have its work cut out for them. The 'Belles will play Newman in their first match of the tournament at 11 a.m. Friday and No. 14-ranked Central Missouri at 5 p.m. Friday.
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