Despite loss, Lady Yoe ends season on high note

Regardless of where a team finishes a season, there is no better feeling than going out with a win. That was not to be for the Lady Yoe on Tuesday night in the 2017 finale versus Lexington, but Cameron may have very well played their most complete match of the year in the 3-2 loss.  

“We had a game plan coming in,” said Cameron coach Kamol Nohe. “We knew what they could do with certain players hitting it a certain way, so we had to be in the right place to get the ball up and attack from there. There were a few plays that could have gone our way and it was tough. It’s great for us to finish the year like this.”

The playoff bound Lady Eagles needed to win the match to ensure their playoff spot was a lock, and that made Cameron’s 2-1 set lead that much more impressive.

Cameron led 6-5 in the opening set and added on to that with a Carley Tucker (2), Qua Workman and Gracen Dach string of kills to push the lead to 10-5. The turning point in the set came with things tied at 21, as Workman made a miraculous save and moments later came up with a momentum turning kill.

In the second, Cameron got off to a slow start with three consecutive errors and never could recover in the 25-13 loss.

Cameron rebounded in the third by taking a 11-5 lead through the mid part of the set. A Workman kill and back-to-back attack errors from the Lady Eagles gave Cameron the 6-point advantage.

The lead would eventually dwindle to 13-12 but Cameron would never relinquish the lead. Up 22-20, three more attack errors from Lexington gave the ladies the set, 25-21.

Lexington controlled most of the fourth, and had what appeared to be a commanding 23-16 lead. That was before Dach hit the service line, rallying her team back to 24-23 before sophomore outside hitter Kacie Johnson tipped one into an open space to end the comeback.

A Lauryn Leftwich block gave Cameron an 8-7 lead in the deciding 5th set but Lexington closed on a 7-0 run to escape Yoe Gym. Freshman outside hitter Shelby Ray closed out an impressive match with two kills.

It was the final night on the court for three Lady Yoe seniors. The first, Alexis Vargas, has been with the program throughout the rebuilding years.

“Lexi has been with us since I have been here,” said Nohe. “She was a DS (defensive specialist) then and took the role of libero this year. She stepped up and did everything that I needed her to do. She worked hard and she took things very seriously.”

The other two are Workman and Terryn Adams - a pair of basketball stars who made contributions on the volleyball court this season.

“Qua came back with her first year to play and she did a great job,” Nohe said. “I needed her to come with the mindset from basketball of fighting and continuing to battle it out. Terryn is the same thing. They have that different perspective from the basketball court and it showed out there. They may not have the background the others had, but they came in a did a great job.”

A majority of Cameron’s top offensive threats were either juniors or sophomores from this season’s 12-28 team. With improvements in results from 2016 to 2017, 2018 may be the breakthrough year for the program under Nohe.

“There are some things that we see happening with our growth,” said Nohe, which will be entering his third year in Cameron next season. “In these past two years, we have been learning the system and are doing things that we need to do. We have one more year for these kids and hopefully we can take it to the next level.”

Lexington (L 25-23, 13-25, 25-21, 23-25, 8-15)

Attacking: Tucker (48A, 12K), Wimmer (39A, 4K), Dach (32A, 5K), Workman (22A, 6K), Leftwich (20A, 5K), Denio (16A, 3K), Vargas (11A), Adams (4A), Brunson (1A)

Digs: Wimmer (35), Vargas (24), Workman (14), Tucker (12), Denio (10), Leftwich (9), Bolivar (7), Dach (5), Adams (4)

Blocks: Leftwich (4), Tucker (3), Dach (2), Brunson (1)

Aces: Tucker (2), Denio (1), Leftwich (1)

Rockdale (L 18-25, 16-25, 14-25)

Attacking: Tucker (26A, 6K), Denio (21A, 3K), Wimmer (21A, 8K), Leftwich (17A 6K), Workman (11A), Dach (7A, 1K), Brunson (6A, 2K), Vargas (6A), Adams (4A)

Digs: Vargas (21), Wimmer (16), Denio (15), Tucker (4), Workman (4), Bolivar (3), Leftwich (3), Dach (1), Adams (1)

Blocks: Leftwich (3), Brunson (3), Tucker (1)

Aces: None

Final 20-3A Standings

1. Rogers (14-0), 2. Academy (12-2), 3. Rockdale (9-5), 4. Lexington (8-6), 5. Jarrell (7-7), 6. Cameron Yoe (3-11), 6. Franklin (3-11), 8. Hearne (0-14).