In a battle of the top twp teams in the district, the Levelland Loboettes edged out San Angelo Lake View in an exciting match-up at Levelland High School last Friday. “It was an exciting moment,” said Loboette Head Coach Whitney Gibson. “It was something the girls and I knew was possible. We definitely fought for that moment all season. It was great to get to that point and win that last set.” “We can finally say we are district champions,” she added.
This is the Loboettes first district championship since 2015.
“For us, I think it is a big deal,” stated Gibson. “We harped on winning district all season. It has been a while since program has had district gold. My sister was on that 2015 team and I played on the 2012 team that grabbed district gold.”
“So, I know what it feels like as a player, but it is was a much better feeling as a coach. Seeing the joy from the players and watching their hard-work pay off was amazing,” the coach continued.
Winning district was not an easy task. It took five grueling sets to put away a Lake View team that would not go down without a fight.
“Honestly, beating Lake View came down to heart, fight and a desire to win,” explained Gibson. “If you look at the score in that third set (10-25), you will see we played terrible. It is like the girls forgot how to play volleyball.”
“So, for us to battle back after that set, and win the next two had to be heart and a desire to win. The team wanted a district title and it showed,” added the coach. October 18 suffered a loss how were you guys able to bounce back and put a plan together “I think it was just one of those games. It did not feel like we should have won. We had players struggle and several calls I did not like or agree with at all,” said Gibson.
“It was also like a three hour bus ride, but after that game, we learned we can’t use excuses,” she continued. “We let our excuses get in our head, but Friday, we knew we did not have time for excuses. Our mentality was make a mistake and push through it. We did not feel we were owed anything. We knew we had to do, which was go take it.”
Loboettes are riding high on a three game win streak as they head into the bi-district round against Mineral Wells.
“I just want the girls to understand that coming into the playoffs on a win streak is good for us mentally,” stated the coach. “I want them to know this is what we are capable doing, when we work together as team. We can win games in a row when we trust each other.”
“I think it is going to be a good game. I think it is a game we can win, but it will take us showing up ready to play. We have to take it to them, like we did against Lake View,” stated Gibson. “I want to come in hot and stay hot. I do not want us trying to play point-for- point. “We have to play with urgency. We have to help our servers and not let balls drop on our side of the floor. We need to see how important this game is right away,” she added. On paper, Mineral Wells comes into the game as the four seed, but coach Gibson does not plan on taking them lightly.
“I actually spoke with the girls Monday about not underestimating any of our opponents,” said the coach . “Yes, they are technically a four seed, but that doesn’t mean anything. Pampa is a four seed and they are very good team. We have to understand everyone’s district is different.”
“We cannot enter the game with a cocky mentality. Every team we face in the playoffs is good. I hope they do not expect Mineral Wells just to hand us a victory,” she added.
For the Loboettes, Gibson believes trust and playing as a team will be the key to winning bidistrict gold. “Getting a playoff win is going to take every single player. If someone struggles, we need teammates their picking up the slack. We have to trust each other and play as a team. I want to see high energy and a team effort, the coach concluded.