Wildorado volleyball comes on strong to deny Water Valley return to regional final
Wildorado High School spoiled a District 7-2A rematch for the regional championship by storming back to beat Water Valley 7-25, 25-15, 25-14, 25-18 in a Region I-1A volleyball semifinal Friday at Central High School.
The Lady Mustangs improved to 32-13 with the win and advance to face Veribest Saturday for the right to advance to the UIL State Volleyball Championships in Garland.
Wildorado, which looked listless in the opening set, dominated at the net the rest of the way to end the season for Veribest’s district rival.
Water Valley and Veribest tied for the district championship, but now only one has a shot at a regional title.
Lady Mustang hitters Kyndall Ragland and Makenna Byrd dominated the net from the outsides to not only bounce back from a fast loss in the opening set, but to set the Lady Wildcats back on their heels until the fourth set when Water Valley finally came back to life.
Water Valley pulled out to a 9-5 lead to try to force a fifth and decisive set, but the Lady Mustangs won 12 of the final 15 points to end the Lady Wildcats’ season at 32-10.
After falling short of the regional tournament in 2020, the Lady Wildcats were back looking for their third state-tournament berth in four years. But it was not to be, despite Water Valley’s dominant start.
Amy McDaniel is a multimedia sports journalist. Send news tips to amy.mcdaniel@gosanangelo.com. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Wildorado volleyball denies Water Valley return to regional final
