Lady Panthers drop final district game to N. Hopkins

Posted 11/7/24

The Panther Gymnasium was nearly at capacity for last Tuesday’s volleyball match between Alba-Golden and district-leading North Hopkins. The visitors took the match (25-22, 25-22, 12-25, 25-19) …

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Lady Panthers drop final district game to N. Hopkins

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The Panther Gymnasium was nearly at capacity for last Tuesday’s volleyball match between Alba-Golden and district-leading North Hopkins. The visitors took the match (25-22, 25-22, 12-25, 25-19) in a whale of a match.

There was plenty of outstanding volleyball at hand, with both sides well-practiced after two successful seasons.

The first two sets were near mirror images. Each was tied at 5-5, after which North Hopkins opened leads. The first set was tied again at 18 all, and the second set was tied again at 17 all. 

North Hopkins simply executed more consistently down the stretch and eked out those first two set wins. 

The third set was all Alba-Golden. Freshman Jayla Sitar provided the burst of scoring in that third set. Her work from the service line was spot-on. In her two service turns, Alba-Golden scored nine points. That included an ace and six attacking scores, courtesy of Lainey Teel and Averi Stevenson.  

Multiple time outs by North Hopkins could not derail the Lady Panther momentum. Alba-Golden produced its best volleyball of the year in the third set. 

Senior Lainey Teel was a force throughout the match. She registered 15 kills and 4 blocks – many which could be described as emphatic. A good number of those scoring shots were after receiving excellent sets from Sitar. 

It was a Teel kill shot which drew Alba-Golden to within one point (19-20) late in set four. North Hopkins proved why they won the district by finishing the fourth set and the match on a five-point run. 

Due to the loss last Tuesday, Alba-Golden faced a seeding playoff with Como-Pickton. The Lady Eagles took that match 3-2, Wednesday, on their home court.

Alba-Golden faced Wolfe City in the bidistrict playoffs Monday at Commerce and took a four-set win.

The Lady Panthers won 26-24 and 25-23 before dropping the third set 23-25. They rallied to win 25-22 and will face Lindsay for area on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Bonham.