Lady Yoe pick up 3 wins this past week

For the first time this season, the Lady Yoe volleyball team got in the win column. All-in-all the ladies had a successful week of play, finishing with a 3-3 overall mark to move their season record to 3-5.

Cameron Tournament - Thursday

The Lady Yoe opened the Cameron tournament with a pair of pool games; the first coming with Mumford. The ladies did what was needed in the four set victory, 25-23, 19-25, 25-11, 25-15. Cameron closed the day in a Milam county showdown with the Milano Lady Eagles. The match was close in every set, with Milano taking it in four, 25-27, 22-25, 25-21, 28-30.

Cameron Tournament - Saturday

The Lady Yoe drew La Vega - the third place team out of pool B - in the first round of bracket play on Saturday morning. It was easily Cameron’s most comfortable match of the year, with a dominating sweep, 25-10, 25-5 and 25-12. Kenzie Wimmer was the leading force with 19 assists and 9 kills on the offensive end. Gracen Dach had 7 kills and Darci Denio led the team with 8 aces.

The highlight match of the tournament came in the semifinals versus 20-3A rival Rogers. Despite not picking up the win, Cameron did more than enough to impress fans and their coach in the 15-13 fifth set loss.

“I think the motivation was there to come out play against Rogers,” said Lady Yoe head coach Kamol Nohe. “The kids knew what kind of players that they had. We played them in summer league and competed against them. We had a game plan going in, and it worked out. We followed through with the strategy.

Cameron won the first (25-17) and third (25-22) sets while Rogers took the second (25-20) and fourth (14-25) sets to force the fifth. That final set played out much like the rest of the match as things went back and forth, but it was the Lady Eagles that had the final push in the late moments.

“I was excited about how they competed,” said Nohe. “They never let up and they left everything on the court.”

Dach had 9 kills, Carley Tucker came in with 55 set assists, Wimmer totalled 16 digs, and Tucker had 3 aces.

In the third place game, Cameron drew another district rival - Jarrell. Cameron carried over momentum gained from the Rogers match, taking the opener, 25-20. However, Jarrell narrowly edged out Cameron in the second (24-26) and third (23-25) and pulled away in the fourth (15-25) to take the match.

Tucker had 10 kills, 50 set assists, 10 digs and 2 aces to lead the way. Both Rogers and Jarrell were playoffs teams out of 20-3A a season ago.

Monday’s Match

On Monday, Cameron hosted Vanguard Prep from Yoe Gym. The Lady Yoe made quick work of things, sweeping Vanguard, 25-20, 25-12, 25-18.

The consistent theme in the match was hot starts. In the opening set, Dach had her team up 9-3 after a run at the service line which included a pair of aces. “I’m just trying to find the open spots and the weakest passers on the other team,” said Dach on her approach. “I really focus on trying to get it over and get us as far ahead as we could.”

Throughout the entire match Tucker provided the spark from the front line with 5 kills in the first, 4 in the second, and 3 more in the third for a total of 12 on the evening. “I was trying to see where the blockers were and find the open spots on the court,” said Tucker. “I made sure my approach was good to get those kills.”

The win was Cameron’s third on the season. There are hopes that these types of wins can build confidence which appeared to be missing a season ago.

“I know last year we did not have as much confidence and this year I feel like it’s boosted,” said Dach. “We are focusing more on the little things and trying to get it perfected.” “Last year, we didn’t have as much confidence as we do this season,” added Tucker. “We are going up instead of down and that’s a really good thing.”

Nohe noted after the match how he felt his team was favored plus how his team continues to grow.

“When we play teams we know we should beat, there should not be any doubt,” said Nohe. “Coming into this game, it was about where we’re going to take it now. The passing angles look so much better and the defense looks so much better. The kids are committed and they are not hesitating. Because they are doing that, they are seeing success, and because of that success they are motivated and really confident.”