The Weatherford Lady Eagles volleyball team may have lost to El Reno 3-0 Tuesday at home, but a loss just might help them before the postseason begins.
“I am glad we played a team like El Reno, because it gave us a great opportunity to see exactly what we need to work in before regionals at Bethany,” coach Sandi Barr said. “I hate to lose, but it showed us some things we need to work on.” Weatherford lost the first set 25-21, and lost the second set and third set 25-22 each. Barr said the girls kept fighting all the way until the end.
“We had moments where we hustled and got balls up, but we need to be more consistent,” Barr said. “We had great moments on defense and hustled. We never really gave up.”
The first set was close at first but Weatherford built a 10-6 lead with plays like Sydney Barr getting a kill. El Reno went on a run and tied it, 13-13, and coach Barr called a timeout. Ireland Helton had an ace to get Weatherford back in the game as they trailed 20-19. El Reno closed the set on a 5-2 run and won 25-21.
Weatherford built an early 7-2 lead in the second set. Weatherford struggled and El Reno came back and took the lead at 11-10. The Lady Eagles took the lead back at 13-11 with plays like Kaydence Bryson getting a kill. Weatherford tried to build a lead but El Reno came roaring back and tied the game at 21. El Reno closed the game out on a 4-1 run and won 25-22.
In the third set, the Lady Eagles had a tough start, trailing 10-4 early. Weatherford later trailed 14-6, but got back in the game with eight straight points, forcing El Reno to call a timeout with the score 16-12. Weatherford later went on a 5-0 run with a kill from Sydney Barr making it 23-21 El Reno.
“We have played like this our last five matches,” Barr said. “We seem to struggle finishing. We get down and then come back, but when we come back and get the set close, we fall apart. We need to improve and close out matches better and we need to have better endurance.”
Weatherford finishes the regular season with a record of 15-8 and will play at regionals at Bethany. Their first match is 10 a.m. today against Blanchard. The winner of that match will play noon against Bethany for a spot in the state championship game.
“Fingers crossed, we are close to finishing the season,” Barr said. “I obviously want to win regionals. I want to win big against Blanchard so that way when we go into the Bethany game, we have momentum and have good self-esteem and energy going into that game.”