The Ropes Lady Eagles volleyball team fell short against Sterling City, 3-1, in the Area Round of the playoffs this past Monday at Lamesa High School.
Ropes won the first set 2519 before dropping the final three 25-13,25-18 and 28-26.
The loss marks the end of the season for Lady Eagles, finishing with a record of 3011 overall and 8-2 in district.
While it wasn't the end they wanted, they can still be proud of everything they accomplished this season, including winning a Bi-District Championship against Vega, which Ropes Head Volleyball Coach Jonathon Montanez talked about.
“It was a great feeling. I know we had set our goals for it because it was a rematch against Vega. We wanted that win. So, coming out with it, I’m really proud of my girls,” Coach Montanez said. “It’s the first golden ball in my career and I was glad the girls were a part of it. I wouldn’t trade anything for this team.”
Not only did that win secure the Bi-District title, but it also served payback to Vega, who knocked Ropes out in the same round last year.
That was a big part of what Coach Montanez referred to as a “successful season,” and another thing he mentioned was two of his junior athletes, setter Allye Bandy and libero Braedyn Reyna, reachpage milestones this year.
Bandy reached the 1,000 career assists mark and became the Ropes volleyball all-time assists leader, while Reyna surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark.
The crazy part is they both have another year left in their careers as they’re both a part of a young, talented core for Ropes.
The Lady Eagles only graduate four seniors this year and return nine girls, including most of their key contributors fi'om this season.
They already hit the 30-win mark and made a playoff run, so it will be fun to see the success they have next year with such an experienced group.
But they will certainly still miss a senior group of difference makers including middle hitter Lila Forsythe, who led the team in the regular season with 57 total blocks and 0.8 aces per set, as well as tying for the team lead of 76 aces with junior defensive specialist Vivian Gallegos.
Another senior impact player was setter Addi Crunk, who was second on the team in total assists with 293, averaging 2.9 assists a set, also recording 119 digs and 100 service points.
Other than Forsythe, the rest of the regular season statistical leaders came from the junior class starting with middle hitter Brylee Lauderdale who led the Lady Eagles with 263 total kills and 2.3 kills per set.
Braedyn Reyna led the team with 486 total digs, 4.5 digs per set and 542 receptions, while Allye Bandy led theteamwith596total assists.
Junior defensive specialist Marlee Molina also had a great season as she was second best in several stats including total digs with 285, total receptions with 358 and digs per set with 2.6.
The statistical excellence of each of those athletes played a huge part in the total team statistics as Ropes volleyball finished the season with 1,081 kills, 353 aces, 108 blocks, 1,567 digs, 939 assists and 1,430 receptions.
All those team stats were well above the national volleyball averages according to maxpreps.com. Congratulations to the Lady Eagles on such an awesome season across the board. They’ll look to build on it moving forward, and Coach Montanez already has a vision of how.
“Volleyball is a mental game where you can’t let the emotions get the best of you. So, sometimes we just get in our heads and beat ourselves,” Coach Montanez said. “I know we’re capable of a deeper playoff run and the girls are hungry for it. They’re ready to hit the ground running again.”
As the offseason begins, they’ll seek to learn from and reflect on this season with the goal of improving their mental game for the next.