The Ropes Lady Eagles volleyball team took down their district foe Olton this past Tuesday, 3-1, to improve to 26-9 overall and 5-1 in district play this season.
After narrowly dropping the first set 25-23, Ropes found themselves trailing big in the second, but the Lady Eagles flipped the script, storming back to win not only that set but also the next two and ultimately, the match.
Ropes closed out the final three sets 25-20, 25-14 and 25-14, with a noticeable shift in momentum that sparked midway through the second set, which is something Head Coach Jon Montanez talked about.
“As a whole, we knew we were better than that. Once I called that timeout when we were down 7-11 in the second set, everybody started saying: ‘okay, we are not doing this, this is not us’ and people stepped up,” Coach Montanez said. “I feel like that’s where they put it together and closed out that second set. Then once we started having fun and just playing, that’s when I know we can be dominant.”
Dominant is exactly what they were from that point moving forward as anyone in the gym could sense the snowball effect of momentum that set in for the Lady Eagles.
Montanez spoke on that as well and alluded to the fact that he purposefully feeds the hot hand to get his girls flowing as a team, but he primarily accredited the wave of momentum to the infectious energy of his girls.
The Lady Eagles were playing with so much joy and passion, really having fun out there.
It truly was infectious to the point that if you were in the gym, you wanted to get out on the court with them and join in on the fun.
And while the whole team changed the game with their attitudes, several individuals’ efforts had a major part to play in the momentous night as well. “One of my captains, Allye Bandy, she kind of got onto them. Her coordinating and being an all-around threat, she really just dominated for us as far as being that leader. Also being a setter as an outside-hitter, she’s the one that pieced it together,” Coach Montanez said. “The hitter that I loved was Sydney Brooks, one of our freshmen, she got going and put the ball down. Even my other freshman, Lily Greer, when they’re putting the ball down everybody’s loving it. They’re all chanting ‘she’s a freshman’ and that gets more energy going. It was an overall team effort.”
Shoutout to the crowd as well for providing such a crazy environment for the district matchup, both schools brought the energy, but especially the Ropes home crowd.
A lot of that noise was coming from a group of young girls in the bleachers that were starting chants and screaming on every play, which was something Coach Montanez appreciated. “I love that. It was the young girls that were going with it. Two of them have sisters on the team, one on varsity, one on JV. They’re at every game cheering. Since it was Eagle Buddies Night, they got their friends along with them to stay for the game. When they get loud it’s just like an extra man on the court,” Coach Montanez said. “They’re infectious as well because they also echo or start chanting, and that’s when the girls see it as a role model situation. The young girls look up to them and everything, and they’re just that supporting cast behind the scenes.”
Their support certainly fed into the high energy play by the Lady Eagles, which is why Coach Montanez plans to see if they will continue it on in home games to come.
Following the win, the Lady Eagles aim to keep the momentum going in district play as they host Post this weekend for a match before heading on the road to Abernathy on Tuesday.