Volleyball: Wink falls short of state

LEVELLAND Even though they scored enough points to win the Region I-1A Volleyball Tournament title and earn a trip to the UIL Class 1A State Championships, the Wink Lady Cats won’t be making a trip to San Marcos next week.

Wink stood on the cusp of beating Bronte with two match points in the fourth set of the regional championship match Saturday, but the final nail never was delivered.

So after two hours of battling in Levelland High School’s gym — including extra points in both the fourth and fifth sets — Wink’s players simply had to take a deep breath and exhale after falling 25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 27-25, 17-15.

Bronte (38-5), behind middle blockers Chelsea Cook and Kaycee Baker along with setter Chelsea Meek, advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2000.

The Lady Cats (33-12), meanwhile, just missed on their first state trip since 1998 after getting ever so close to the finish line.

“It’s a major heartbreaker, definitely,” said Wink senior Whitney Garland, an all-tournament selection who had 16 assists, nine kills and 15 digs. “Just a few little mistakes cost us. We definitely didn’t give up. We worked hard to get here and it definitely was a hard-fought game.”

Wink proved that by bouncing back after an awful start in the first set to take a 2-1 lead.

Then in the fourth, Bronte was ahead 21-17 before Wink roared into a 22-21 lead behind a pair of kills by junior Lyndi Shackelford — an all-tournament pick who led the Lady Cats with 15 kills and 17 assists — and a pair of errors by Bronte.

The teams traded points and Wink earned match points at 24-23 and 25-24, but each time Bronte had an answer with kills.

Wink never led in the final set, but rallied from deficits of 6-3, 11-8 and 13-10 for a 13-13 tie behind two of junior Celesta Turnbo’s 10 kills. Wink also fought off Bronte match points at 14-13 and 15-14 with kills by Turnbo and freshman Madison McGuire, but Bronte closed out the last two points with kills for the victory and trip to San Marcos for the Class 1A state tournament.

The Lady Cats had struggles throughout the match with ball control, particularly off serve receive, and Bronte eventually was rewarded for tough serving and by staying in its offensive system by feeding Cook and Baker.

“We had to work a little bit harder it seemed like,” first-year Wink head coach Starla Jones said. “I’m very proud of them. We’ve had a great year and they’ve had fun and I’ve had fun.”

Of course, there was disappointment and tears and — in a moment of unintentional comedy — the regional runner-up trophy fell over while Wink was taking team pictures.

There was indeed reason to be joyous of reaching the regional final for the first time since 2006 after missing out on the regional tournament entirely a year ago.

If the Lady Cats had managed just to come up with a measly point, then the balanced effort they displayed would have been rewarded with a spot in the state’s final four. BreAnn Creech and McGuire added to the attacking with eight kills each, Turnbo had 24 digs and Shackelford had 15 while McGuire had four blocks in addition to two from Creech and Curtis.

It simply wasn’t quite enough to go all the way, but getting really, really close seemed like a step forward.

“I’m very proud of my team,” said Curtis, one of three seniors along with Garland and Shelbi Richardson. “I’m proud because I’ve seen bad, bad times and I’ve seen good times and that’s one of the best (matches) we’ve ever played. It’s one of the best we battled, especially with that much pressure.

“That was worth it.”

Bronte def. Wink

25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 27-25, 17-15

REGION I-1A VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

At Levelland High School

Championship Match

Kills – Wink: Lyndi Shackelford 15, Celesta Turnbo 10, Whitney Garland 9, BreAnn Creech 8, Madison McGuire 8, Taryn Curtis 2. Bronte: Chelsea Cook 20, Kaycee Baker 20, Kimber Lee 6, Chelsea Meek 3, Chelsea McGinnis 2, Cheyenne Boyd 2, Shandee Vaughn 1.

Assists – Wink: Lyndi Shackelford 17, Whitney Garland 16. Bronte: Chelsea Meek 40.

Blocks – Wink: Madison McGuire 4, BreAnn Creech 2,Taryn Curtis 2, Celesta Turnbo 1, Whitney Garland 1. Bronte: Chelsea Cook 5.5, Kaycee Baker 3, Shandee Vaughn 2, Chelsea Meek 1.5.

Digs – Wink: Celesta Turnbo 24, Whitney Garland 15, Lyndi Shackelford 15, Lacee Creech 13, Shelbi Richardson 12, Michyla Hyde 10, Madison McGuire 7, Taryn Curtis 6, BreAnn Creech 1.

Aces – Wink: Lyndi Shackelford 2, Taryn Curtis 2, Whitney Garland 1, BreAnn Creech 1, Madison McGuire 1. Bronte: Rachael Deller 3, Chelsea Meek 2, Ashley Royall 2, Jill Scott 1, Kimber Lee 1.

Service points – Wink: Celesta Turnbo 10, BreAnn Creech 9, Whitney Garland 9, Taryn Curtis 8, Madison McGuire 7, Lyndi Shackelford 6. Bronte: Chelsea Cook 13, Rachael Deller 11, Chelsea Meek 9, Kimber Lee 9, Ashley Royall 5, Jill Scott 4, Mackenzie Gibbs 1.

Records

Wink 33-12, Bronte 38-5.