Hico tops Hamilton for sole possession of first place in 8-2A

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Courtesy MAAIKE'S SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

HICO (September 27, 2016) — Hico is alone in first place in 8-2A.

The Lady Tigers took a one-match lead and head-to-head advantage over in-county rival Hamilton in four sets Tuesday evening, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21.

Three service aces helped push Hamilton out to an 8-2 lead to begin the fourth set, but Hico responded quickly with five straight points including a kill by standout Kaylee Roach to pull within one and force a Hamilton timeout.

The Lady Tigers tied the fourth at 9-9 and 10-10 on kills by Shelby Polk and Marissa Warren before back-t0-back aces by Kaylee Moore and a Hamilton passing error made it 13-10. The lead didn’t last long with Hamilton scoring five straight, but Sydney Polk restored order with a block for a point, and the Lady Tigers tied it at 15-15 and 16-16, the latter on a kill by Warren. It was even again at 17-17 before a Hamilton error and Roach kill shot put Hico ahead for good.


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Back-to-back Hamilton attack errors scored the final two points for Hico, which took a major step toward repeating as district champion. Each team entered the match 4-0 in district play. They meet again on October 21, likely with the outright district title on the line for Hico and a share of it up for grabs for Hamilton.

The first set was similar to the fourth. Hamilton led 13-7 after a 10-1 run during which the only Hico point came on a controversial call. It was still 18-11 when Hico head coach Julia Plaster called her final timeout of the set, then her Lady Tigers forged their first big response on an evening full of them.

A Roach kill and Warren ace brought the Lady Tigers within 19-16, and a Roach ace, followed by a Sydney Polk stuff, a Hamilton timeout and a Shelby Polk kill evened it up at 20-20. An exchange of errors left it tied at 22-22 before one of several net penalties that hampered Hamilton’s efforts throughout the match.

The penalty was followed by a Shelby Polk kill, and Hamilton’s final timeout of the set couldn’t prevent it from committing an attack error for the final point.

Hamilton led 10-4 before a side out and a stunning string of five consecutive aces by Roach evened it up at 10-10. It was even again at 11-11 before back-to-back Hamilton kills, and Hico was playing from behind the rest of the set. It reached 23-16 before a brief comeback attempt of three straight points by the Lady Tigers, but they committed back-to-back errors to allow Hamilton to even the match after two sets.

Both teams play next on Saturday. Hico visits Gustine at 10 a.m. and Hamilton hosts Gorman at 4 p.m.


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