Lady Yoe Volleyball take down McGregor, falls to Rockdale

Cameron clips McGregor at home in five

It's not about how you win, but that you end up taking care of business in district play.  At times, it did not look like Cameron was going to be able to pull off a victory over the Lady Dogs of McGregor on Saturday from Yoe Gym, but the Lady Yoe managed to break their five streak curse in a 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-11 win.    

Cameron, which swept McGregor easily on the road the first half of district play, found themselves in a 2-1 hole before rebounding to take the final two sets.  McGregor led 22-18 in the fourth set before a rally, which was finished off by a Carley Tucker kill and McGregor error, led to the match going five.  

"Last time we beat them in three and it was a blowout, so we kind of went in thinking we had it and it didn't happen," said Tucker, a junior.  "They look at me as a leader on the team, so I knew I had to come pick it up and everyone else up to get to the fifth set and win."

Though it was obvious Cameron did not play their best volleyball throughout most of the match, one big positive was to win in the fifth set, which has been the Achilles  heel all season as Cameron had lost four fifth-set district matches up to this point.  

"Every fifth set we've gone to we've lost by two points, so we know we have to step it up or we are not going to have a playoff spot," said Tucker.  "We still have a chance at the playoffs, and I know for the seniors and myself I want to go.  I know we need to step it up moving forward."

Cameron, which still has fourth place Rogers and Rockdale still on the schedule, knows they have to win both of those games plus a few others to have a shot at the postseason.  

"We are capable of it," said coach Kamol Nohe.  "We need to turn the switch on and leave it on.  Sometimes we turn it off and we try to rest instead of staying focused throughout.  We are still in the hunt and the opportunity is still there and we just have to keep battling.  We may have to rely on other teams too, but if we take care of our business good things happen.  Hopefully that spot will still be open for us to have."

Friday/Saturday 19-3A Results: Academy 3, Rogers 0; Troy 3, Lexington 1; Cameron Yoe 3, McGregor 2; Rockdale 3, Franklin 0.  

Cameron bows out to Rockdale, 3-1

It was a must-win situation, but the ladies fell short in the end to the Rockdale Lady Tigers on Tuesday, 3-1.  Cameron (3-7) won the first set over Rockdale (5-5), 25-22, but lost the next three sets, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23. 

With the teams being fairly even in terms of the on-court competition, it was Rockdale's senior middle back Reyna Kaylee Criswell that had the high kill rate, knocking home 15 kills on the evening.  

Cameron's Carley Tucker did what she could on the offensive end, coming in with a game-high 18 kills.  

Cameron went up 8-3 in the first, with the lead increasing thanks to a pair of passing errors and one attack error from the Lady Tigers.  Cameron grew that lead to 19-13 following a Kenzee Layne kill before Rockdale closed the gap to as close as one at 22-21.  Cameron led 24-22 before Carly Tucker knocked home her fifth kill to end the first.  

It was the Lady Tigers that forced a Lady Yoe timeout in the second by jumping out to the 10-6 lead.  Rockdale had three consecutive kills - two by Criswell and one by Ryanne Young - in the early going.  Cameron came back to tie the set at 22 with a kill by Tucker in a vacant spot on the left side of the court.  However, one of 15 Lady Yoe errors eventually led to Rockdale taking the set, knotting things up at one set apiece. 

The third was fairly competitive until late, as was the fourth.  Cameron was in good position to take the fourth set and force yet another deciding fifth after Gracen Dach's ace gave Cameron the 22-20 lead.  

Rockdale finished with three kills and and ace to complete the season sweep over their rivals.  

In additional to Tucker's 15 kills and 3 aces, senior Darci Denio did come in with 2 kills and 3 aces, while fellow senior Gracen Dach had 2 kills and 3 aces.  Marley Spink was in on 3 successful blocks.  

Tuesday 19-3A Results: Rockdale 3, Cameron Yoe 1; Lexington 3, Academy 1; Rogers over Franklin; Franklin over Troy. 

19-3A Standings: 1. Academy (9-1), 1. Troy (9-1), 3. Lexington (7-3), 4. Rogers (5-5), 4. Rockdale (5-5), 6. Cameron Yoe (3-7), 7. Franklin (1-9), 7. McGregor (1-9).  

Cameron is mathematically still in the hunt with four games to go, but may need to win out and also have some help along the way.  

The Lady Yoe will be at home versus Rogers (4:30) on Friday and will also host Franklin (6:00) next Tuesday.