SMHS VOLLEYBALL
The Rattlers battled tough but fell to the No. 9 ranked Buda Johnson Jaguars 3-0 [25-22, 25-16, 25-21] in district action.
Though both the Rattlers and Head Coach Megann Ollet were still disappointed with the loss, Ollet was still proud of the team for going head-to-head with a Top 10 team in Class 6A.
“I thought we did OK,” Ollet said. “The second set got a little touchy, and it highlighted that we still need to work on our serve and receive. But I was impressed with how we responded and never gave up. We kept fighting, staying true and staying calm which is something we have been working on not getting flustered. We did a good job of keeping that under control.”
In the first set, Johnson led San Marcos by one point at 10-9. The Jaguars went on a 4-0 run to push their lead out to 14-9, but the Rattlers went on a 7-3 run to cut Johnson’s lead down to 17-16.
Johnson again made another run to go up 21-17 but the Rattlers responded and again cut the lead down to one point at 21-20.
San Marcos was unable to complete the comeback, as Buda Johnson won the first set at 25-22.
In the second set, the Rattlers and the Jaguars were deadlocked at 1010 with the two teams trading the lead back and forth.
The Jaguars continued to hold the lead at 15-14 before going on a 5-1 run to take a commanding 20-15 lead going into the final frame of the set.
Johnson closed out the set by going on another 5-1 run to win the second at 25-16.
In the third set, Johnson jumped out to a 5-0 lead and looked to blow out the Rattlers. However, San Marcos responded with a 6-0 run to lead the Jaguars 6-5.
Johnson wrangled control of the lead to go up 10-9 before a 5-1 run extended their lead to 1510.
The Jaguars then took a 21-14 lead going into the final frame as Johnson looked to complete their sweep in blowout fashion.
But the Rattlers once again refused to give in, going on a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to 21-19.
San Marcos tried to complete the comeback to no avail as the Jaguars won the third set 25-21.
Senior Brinkley Reeves led the team in kills with 16 followed by junior Kylie Joseph with seven.
Junior Melayna Perkins led the team in both serving aces and blocks with three apiece while Reeves led the team in digs with 13 to complete the double-double. Senior Grace Pactanac was second in digs with 11.
Pactanac also completed the double-double with a team leading 25 assists.
But despite the loss, the Rattlers ability to battle with the Jaguars after being down will be critical as San Marcos enters the second round of district still in the hunt for the playoffs.
“To me it is very crucial,” Ollett said. “Even from nothing else, if we can learn from that mindset that it can carry against teams we should beat or we go head-to-head with. Right now we are in a fight where we have to win some big matches in the second round [of district play] to have a shot at playoffs.”
San Marcos makes the trip out to Clemens for a massive showdown with the Buffaloes with playoff implications on the line.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Schertz Clemens High School.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
