The Odessa High volleyball team returned to the court for the first time in over a week as the Lady Bronchos recorded a 3-1 win over Pecos in a nondistrict contest Tuesday at the OHS Fieldhouse.
Playing for the first time since Sept. 1, the Lady Bronchos won by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19 for the four-set victory.
With the win, Odessa High moved to 12-5 for the season while Pecos fell to 13-13.
“I’m excited with how everyone showed up,” Odessa High head coach Cody Dominguez said. “I’m excited with how the girls showed up and got together, especially after losing the third set. It showed that we still have some things to work on before our district starts next week.”
Despite the loss, Pecos head coach Gary Garcia was still happy with his team’s performance as they get ready for district play.
“Coming into it, we wanted to work on some things, offensively, that we’ve been working on in practice,” Garcia said. “I felt like we did that and we looked a lot better today. All in all, it wasn’t a win but it felt like it.”
The Lady Eagles will continue to face 6A competition during the nondistrict portion of the season.
Garcia is excited with how that will help his team prepare for district.
“It was great that’s why we have these tough games,” Garcia said. “We also have Midland High next Tuesday. We have to get those challenging games in before district play.”
Both teams continued to battle in a back and forth contest as Odessa High inched ahead 21-20 in the first set.
OHS took the first set 25-22.
Pecos took a 3-0 lead to begin the second set.
An error by the Lady Bronchos made it 5-0 soon after.
It was 8-3 after an error on a serve by Odessa High.
The Lady Bronchos went on a 4-1 run to cut the deficit.
A kill by Odessa High’s Aubrey Villa tied things up at 9.
It was the start of a 4-1 run by the Lady Bronchos.
A kill by Haylee Caballero made it 12-10, Odessa High.
The Lady Bronchos continued their strong run and took a 23-18 advantage.
Odessa High would go on to take the second set 25-20.
Odessa High began the third set on a 4-2 run.
However, the Lady Eagles didn’t go down without a fight and exploded on a 6-0 run.
Odessa High battled back and both teams traded off points.
The Lady Bronchos took a 19-16 lead soon after.
Pecos however, went on a 6-1 run to take a 22-20 lead.
A kill by Pecos’ Haylee Hill made it 23-20 and Odessa high called a timeout.
“It was like we let up instead of just playing on and finishing with what we know,” Dominguez said. “A lot of it happened to do with our errors. We got sloppy at the end of that set.”
Pecos wouldn’t be denied and took the set 25-21.
“That’s all I ask from the girls,” Garcia said. “I told them in the first two sets that they were playing well but let’s not just settle for that. They rose up in the third set and that’s all I could ask from them.”
Pecos continued its momentum from the third set, getting off to a 5-2 lead in the fourth.
However, Odessa High bounced back and soon had a 13-9 lead.
The Lady Bronchos expanded their lead to 16-10 soon after.
Odessa High remained in control for the remainder of the night and took the set, 25-19 and the 3-1 victory.
“We’ve been playing with some rotations and some different things in practice so utilizing that in a game and seeing that and all the hard work that our middles are doing is great,” Dominguez said. “It’s coming together.”
Odessa High will next face Amarillo High at 5 p.m. at home Friday.
The Lady Bronchos will begin District 2-6A play On Sept. 22 at Midland Legacy.
