Heartbreak in Childress; Lady Blues lose in regional semifinal

The Lady Blues season came to an end Tuesday. After reaching regionals for the first time since 2010, the Lady Blues fell to Canyon 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-27, 10-25) in the 4A regional semifinals. Childress played host to a doubleheader of semifinal games with Decatur taking on Hereford in the late match.

Slow starts have been nothing new for the Lady Blues and it happened against Tuesday. The Lady Eagles jumped ahead early with a 4-1 lead. The Lady Blues struggled to work around a taller group of hitters on the other side of the net and only scored on their serve three times in the opening set; a two-point spurt to tie the game at 4-4 and to pull within two at 22-24 late in the set.

“Canyon had smart attacks at key moments,” Lady Blues coach Marci Faulk said. “It just kept us from getting anything going. About the time we got two rallies together, they would have some great attack. A great pass so the setters can set their taller hitters. I thought they did a good job at keeping us from gaining any real momentum.”

For the rest of the story, see the Nov. 14 edition of The Graham Leader.