Lady Yoe top Temple 3-2
After spending time in China Spring for an in-season tournament over the weekend, the Cameron Lady Yoe volleyball team hosted the Temple Lady Cats on Tuesday.
Cameron defeated Temple in grueling victory, winning 3-2. The Lady Yoe got off to a slow start as the first seven points of the first set went to Temple.
Cameron broke the drought with a kill by Saydi Wimmer (12) for a score of 7-1, which was soon followed with a kill by Allie Henson (3) for an 8-2 deficit. Cameron tried to march back with help from two consecutive aces by Crystal Daniels (7) to close the gap to 11-5. Temple responded with a 3-0 run to go ahead 14-6.
The Lady Yoe responded with a kill by Wimmer to make it an 18-6 deficit. Cameron began to close the gap and scored on a combined block by Daniels and Yierra Flemings (2) to make the score 18-11. The Lady Yoe continued their scoring spurt with an ace by Wimmer to make the score 18-14, but it was not enough as Temple finished the first set on a 7-1 run to beat Cameron 25-15.
“The first set we struggled getting around their block and picking up their tips,” Lady Yoe Coach Autumn Kilpatrick said. “They started with an aggressive game that had us playing catch up.”
The first two points of the second set went to Cameron, and they would go up 3-1 on a kill by Daniels. Temple responded and came back to tie the set at 4. The set stayed even until Temple took an 11-8 lead, then Cameron marched back and tied the set at 13. The Lady Yoe stayed in front with an ace by Kasara Brooks (5) for a 16-15 lead. The Lady Yoe continued to increased their lead with a booming kill by Kennedy Banks (11) for a 21-19 lead, which was soon followed with an impressive ace by Henson to make the score 23-19. Cameron went on to win the second set 25-21.
The third set began with the first two points scored by Cameron. The Lady Yoe continued to stay on top with an ace by Wimmer for a 4-2 lead. Cameron stayed aggressive with a big kill by Brooks to make it a 7-5 lead, which was soon followed with a powerful kill by Banks for a 9-5 lead.
Temple tried to start a rally, but the Lady Yoe halted their spurt with a point by Flemings to make it a 14-7 lead. Cameron showed their power on defense with a combined block from Flemings and Daniels for a 16-10 lead, which was followed with two consecutive kills by Banks to increase the lead to 18-10. Temple tried to rally back and the score became 19-14. The Lady Yoe responded with a 4-0 run with help from a big ace by Henson to make it a 23-14 lead, and Cameron went on to win the third set 25-15.
“In the second and third set we started moving our feet on defense and swinging around the block,” Kilpatrick said. “Our ability to play a more aggressive game at the net changed the whole momentum of the game for us.”
The first three points of the fourth set went to Cameron. Temple responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead 8-3. The Lady Yoe answered back with a 3-0 run to make the score 8-6. Cameron continued to fight back with an ace by Mackenzie Mahan (8) to close the gap to 11-10. The Lady Cats would go on a 6-1 run to lead Cameron 17-12, but Cameron fought back again to make the score 21-18 on a big kill by Banks. The Cameron deficit dropped to two points on a block by Wimmer to make the score 23-21, but they couldn’t complete the comeback and lost the fourth set 25-22.
The fifth and final set began with the first three points scored Temple. The Lady Yoe halted their momentum with a big block by Flemings for a 3-1 deficit, and closed the gap with a huge point scored on a kill by Banks to make it a 4-3 deficit. Cameron then took the lead 5-4 on a kill by Banks, followed with an ace by Henson making it a 6-4 lead. Temple came back and tied the set at 6.
The Lady Cats took back the lead but Cameron continued to fight with a kill by Aubree Brashear (1) for a 9-8 deficit. The Lady Yoe took back the lead with help from a clutch ace by LaShannon Lewis (4) for 11-9 lead. Cameron increased their lead with a massive kill by Flemings to make the score 14-11, and held strong to win the fifth set 15-13 to win the game. Coach Autumn Kilpatrick was pleased with how the girls rallied in the fifth set and set their minds to wanting a win.
“They were able to push through any mental barriers they started the set with to finish the game strong,” Kilpatrick said. “I’m really proud of how hard they fought and worked tonight.”
Yierra Flemings played well with three kills, four digs, and four blocks. Saydi Wimmer also had a great game with a block, an ace, nine kills, and 23 digs. Allie Henson played incredible with a kill, three aces, and 22 digs. Aubree Brashear had an impressive game with a kill, 23 digs, and 38 assists.
Up next, the Lady Yoe will travel to take on the Killeen Lady Roos. The game will be on Friday and is set to start at 5 p.m.