From Temple Daily Telegram
By Tim Waits

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Already sailing in unchartered postseason waters, the current proved too rough for the Lake Belton Lady Tigers on Tuesday night.

Lake Belton’s first foray into the third round of the volleyball playoffs ended with a 25-21, 25-17, 25-22 sweep by Frisco Reedy in a Class 5A Division I Region II semifinal at Hillsboro High School.

It was the deepest run in the five-year existence of the Lady Broncos program.

Ultimately, the Lady Lions dictated the evening and had an answer for everything that came their way. Reedy (18-19) advanced to the regional final to play McKinney North, which dispatched Lake Belton district foe Killeen Chaparral in straight sets.

“Our biggest thing was just too many errors,” said Lake Belton coach Allison Waits, who completed her second season at the helm. “Reedy is a great team. We just couldn’t get any real traction.”

On the other hand, Reedy remained sound and batted away the Lady Broncos’ repeated comeback attempts.

“We were really focused on more points earned than errors,” Reedy coach Katy Rudd said. “We did a good job of that and just stayed focused.”

Indeed, the Lady Broncos (34-12) never led at any point despite remaining in striking distance. Lake Belton pulled into a tie with Reedy six times in the final set in an effort to extend the match but couldn’t get in front.

“The whole game was playing catch-up,” Waits said. “We just couldn’t get it going when we got the chance.”

A block by Lake’s Gabby Jones tied the third set at 12 and the teams traded points up to 15-all — with more scoring shots from Jones, Kaitlyn Hutchins and MyKenna Johnston — before the Lady Lions broke away for an 18-15 advantage.

The Lady Broncos scratched back to a 22-all deadlock with a Hutchins kill and a Madi Bingham block. That was their last point of the season, though, as Reedy ran off the final three with a kill from Breanna Smith, an errant Lake attack and an ace from Gabby Vallejos.

The opening set played out in much the same manner as the last one. Four straight points from the Lady Broncos moved them into a 7-all tie, only to see the Lady Lions get back on top and keep just enough distance. Lake Belton staved off a pair of set points — one on a Morgan Kukulski kill — before giving up a Mariah Akinsola spike.

The Lady Broncos couldn’t chase down Reedy enough to get it close in the middle set.

“We had to figure a lot of things out in the preseason,” Rudd said of how her team lost 19 matches this season. “We moved a lot of girls around in different positions and eventually we got it right.”

Lake will lose five seniors. Among them are Jones, who is the school’s all-time leader in kills, and libero Hannah Ward, the career leader in digs.

“It was a historical season,” Waits said. “These girls set the tone for this program and the middle school kids who were at the game. We will miss these seniors’ leadership. This team rose up and I’m proud of them.”