Volleyball: Monahans comes up short in title bid

SAN MARCOS Monahans High School’s volleyball team doesn’t want to get used to these runner-up finishes.

But the Lady Loboes also were aware Saturday of their solid effort in Strahan Coliseum while attempting to dethrone defending Class 3A state champion Lucas Lovejoy.

There were a handful of opportunities for Monahans, but Lovejoy closed them quickly to pull out a 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 victory and defend its title in the UIL Class 3A State Volleyball Championships.

“I think we played strong,” Monahans senior libero Shelbi Najar said. “They’re a good team and I thought we fought hard and stayed with them. I think it was little things here and there if we just would’ve done different, we would’ve had it.”

The match was nearly dead even on a statistical level across the board, with Lovejoy having just slight advantages in kills (41-39), attacking percentage (.189-.183) and blocks (6-5). The Lady Loboes had a 58-52 edge in digs.

Monahans also did well to get up off the mat after falling behind 8-1 to start the match and smaller deficits in both the second and third sets.

But Lovejoy (43-7) showed its experience by coming back late in the second and third sets to close out the match and its second consecutive championship.

The second set featured four lead changes and nine ties, with Lovejoy emerging from a 19-19 tie by recording six kills on a closing 6-2 run. Then in the third, Monahans was on the verge of extending the match with a 22-18 lead, but Lovejoy closed on a 7-1 run behind five kills and one block.

“It’s awesome,” Lovejoy head coach Ryan Mitchell said about the repeat, which comes in just the program’s third season of varsity competition. “This one was just so hard from a pressure standpoint and an expectation standpoint, so to do this is a big weight off our shoulders. We came out to play — I could see it in their eyes. I thought the girls played really hard.”

Monahans (41-6), which swept Caldwell in the semifinals Friday, made its 15th tournament appearance and was seeking a 10th title for the program.

The Lady Loboes instead had to settle for their fourth runner-up finish in six appearances since 2002. They won the 2004 title and have lost in the final of their last three appearances — 2005, 2007 and 2009.

There was a greater sense of disappointment after the 2005 and 2007 losses considering the effort against a powerhouse Lovejoy team.

“I felt like the kids played really hard so I don’t know that there’s any regrets,” Monahans head coach Patty Dominguez said. “I think the kids gave everything they had and that’s what you ask for. Sure we wanted to win it and, yeah, there were a couple of ‘shoulda wouldas,’ but the bottom line is the kids played extremely hard. We really played well and they were a little more polished than we were.”

Lovejoy sophomore Andi Milloy paced her team with 16 kills as a middle blocker and 10 assists as a setter. The strong option out of the middle isn’t something Monahans had to face very often, though senior Kristi Holly (10 kills, 2.5 blocks) and senior Kali Lewis (4 kills, .5 block) held their own.

Junior outside hitter Amy Rose also had 10 kills for the Lady Loboes, senior outside hitter Shelbi Cornelius had eight kills and senior outside hitter Kati Holly had five kills.

Junior setter Erin Fisher had 34 assists and 13 digs while Najar had 11 digs.

“They did a great job,” Fisher said. “We fought to the very last point and unfortunately we came up short.”

In the closing stages of the match, Lovejoy got huge digs on consecutive points by Tyler Bradshear and Kate Turner to take a 23-22 lead. Monahans tied it up 23-23 on a Lovejoy error, but Malloy finished the match with consecutive kills.

The sophomore was aided throughout the match by junior outside hitter Natalie Puckett, who had 13 kills and 14 digs.

“I felt like we did a great job,” Cornelius said. “They’re a good team and so are we. We both played tough and they came out on top.”

It was the last match for several Lady Loboes seniors, including the Holly twins, Cornelius, Lewis, Najar and Michelle Azuaje.

But with Fisher and Rose headlining a strong core of returners — along with Feleena Graves, Dezi Johnson and Monica Ortiz — there is no expectation of taking a step backward, something Rose made clear when she ended Monahans’ press conference by saying, “We’ll be back.”

Rose’s coach agrees.

“You’re disappointed for the seniors, but we’ll be back,” Dominguez said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to get here.”

>> Lucas Lovejoy def. Monahans

25-20, 25-21, 25-23

UIL STATE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Class 3A Final

At Strahan Coliseum, San Marcos

Kills – Lovejoy: Andie Malloy 16, Natalie Puckett 13, Lauren McDaniel 5, Addason Lamb 2, Brennan Roehrig 2, Whitney Stevens 2, Courtney Ray 1. Monahans: Amy Rose 10, Kristi Holly 10, Shelbi Cornelius 8, Kati Holly 5, Kali Lewis 4, Erin Fisher 1, Feleena Graves 1.

Blocks – Lovejoy: Andi Malloy 3, Natalie Puckett 2, Whitney Stevens .5, Courtney Ray .5. Monahans: Kristi Holly 2.5, Kati Holly 1, Amy Rose .5, Kali Lewis .5, Erin Fisher .5.

Assists – Lovejoy: Tyler Bradsher 23, Andi Malloy 10, Brennan Roehrig 2, Lauren McDaniel 1, Natalie Puckett 1, Courtney Ray 1. Monahans: Erin Fisher 34, Kati Holly 1, Michelle Azuaje 1.

Digs – Lovejoy: Natalie Puckett 14, Addason Lamb 12, Lauren McDaniel 10, Kate Turner 9, Andie Malloy 3, Tyler Bradsher 3, Courtney Ray 1. Monahans: Erin Fisher 13, Shelbi Najar 11, Amy Rose 7, Shelbi Cornelius 6, Dezi Johnson 5, Kristi Holly 2, Kali Lewis 2, Feleena Graves 2, Kati Holly 1.

Aces – Lovejoy: Tyler Bradhser 5, Lauren McDaniel 1, Andi Malloy 1, Addason Lamb 1. Monahans: Feleena Graves 2, Dezi Johnson 1.