District 23-AA all-district volleyball selections were announced. Representing East Chambers High School are: 1st team All-District - Shelby Franzen; 2nd team All-District - Lindsey McDonald; Honorable Mention: Jasmine Carrington and Ali Way.
The Lady Bucs traveled to Warren Tuesday night to finish their season. Leading the Lady Bucs in kills were Jasmine Carrington and Shelby Franzen with 6 kills each. Lindsey McDonald followed close behind with 5 kills. The Franzen wall proved to be effective with Mallory Franzen having 9 blocks and sister Shelby Franzen having 6. Ali Way led in assists with 11, and Autumn Scott had 6 digs. Coach Wagner stated, “We have had a rollercoaster of a season. I am proud of the girls to finish as strong as they did. Warren is a good team, and I felt that we came out hard and gave them a good game. We did not reach the goals that we had set at the beginning of the season, but each girl showed great improvement throughout the season.” The Lady Bucs ended the season with an overall record of 20-14; and a district record of 6-6. Varsity: 18-25; 25-19; 16-25; 20-25; JV: 13-25 ;23-25; Freshman: 19-25; 11-25.
The Lady Bucs get to add two more
wins to their record after beating
Anahuac Friday night and Kountze on
Tuesday night. Coach Wagner
commented, “We have had some ups and
downs in our season and although we
are not where we wanted to be going
into our last game, we are focusing
on the progress that has been
made. I am proud of the girls' hard
work and dedication that they have
put into this year. It seems like
just yesterday that we were getting
started, and I feel that the girls
have done a great job of taking the
changes that I brought and
implementing them.”
Tuesday night was led in kills by
Ali way with 9; following close
behind was Jasmine Carrington with
7. Mallory Franzen led in blocks
with 4 and Jordyn Kurek had 14
assists. Karrie Bennett did a
wonderful job on defense, picking up
7 digs. The girls ended the night
with a win in 3: 25-22; 25-21;
27-25; JV: 25-12; 25-20; Freshman:
25-17; 25-20. Anahuac scores: V:
25-20; 25-22; 29-27; JV: 26-24;
25-22; Freshman: 19-25; 23-25.
What a game Tuesday night! The gym was packed and the Lady Bucs were fired up. The first game started out pretty even on both sides. For quite awhile points were just being traded, but the Buna Lady Cougars pulled out the win 21-25. The second game the Lady Bucs were not playing around, winning 25-13, and showing how much they wanted this win. Staying strong, the Lady Bucs pulled out the win in the third game, 25-20, but then let it slip in the fourth, 24-26. In the fifth game, the Lady Bucs were determined for the win and stayed ahead most of the game; however, at the end they just were not able to pull it off, losing 13-15. According to Coach Wagner, “The girls were devastated. At the end of the night, I think everyone in that gym knew that they had worked harder than anyone else. We had some calls against us that were just detrimental to our momentum. We have work to do on staying strong and focused to finish a game, but that will come with experience. I am very proud of my girls and how hard they work. We have three more games and we are looking to go out with a bang.”
Highlights: Lindsey McDonald – 13 kills, 6 digs; Ali Way – 11 kills, 11 assists; Jasmine Carrington – 10 kills, 7 blocks; Mallory Franzen – 8 blocks; Shelby Franzen – 9 kills, 6 blocks; Jordyn Kurek – 27 assists; and Karrie Bennett – 10 digs.
JV – 21-25; 25-14; 9-15; Freshman – 25-19; 19-25; 13-15
Ali Way - 5 kills
Lindsey McDonald - 4 kills
Shelby Franzen - 4 kills, 3 blocks
Jasmine Carrington - 7 blocks
The Lady Bucs played Deweyville Friday night for the second time to gain another win. Lindsey McDonald led the Lady Bucs in kills with 7, Jasmine Carrington had 4 kills and 3 blocks, and Jordyn Kurek had 10 assists. Coach Wagner stated, “Even though we were missing some players Friday night, the girls handled the change well. I was pleased with the girls' performances, especially when I knew they had such a busy weekend. The girls are fighting hard to gain a play-off spot, and I think they are doing a great job of staying focused.” The night's scores were: Varsity: 25-23; 24-14; 25-6; JV: 19-25; 25-19; 22-25; Freshman: 20-25; 10-25.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009, the Lady Bucs traveled to Huffman for a non-district game against the Lady Falcons. Jasmine Carrington and Ali Way led the Lady Bucs in kills with 6 each. Mallory Franzen led the way in blocks with 8, and Jasmine Carrington followed close behind with 6. Jordyn Kurek had 12 assists, and Autumn Scott had 9 digs. “We knew going in that Huffman was a strong team. The girls started off shaky, but after just a little bit they started to play. In the second and third games the girls were playing great defense – probably the best all season. Huffman is probably the best team we have played all season, and it was a great practice for us to get ready for Warren next Tuesday. We play Deweyville at home on Friday, and the girls are ready!”
 |
The Lady Bucs took on the Buna
Lady Cougars for a heartbreaking
match in Buna on Friday,
September 25, 2009. The Lady
Bucs did not seem to get warmed
up until the third game.
Coach Wagner stated, “We started off very weak and after a lot of struggling, we managed to pull ahead in the third game and win it.” In the fourth game, the Lady Bucs stayed on top for most of the game and pulled out another win forcing a fifth game. “In the fifth game we started off with a strong lead, but just couldn’t hold onto it. In the end it was a heartbreaker. The girls persevered from being down 2-0 in games and then to lose it in the manner that we did was just hard. We are still looking ahead to fight to reach our goal, but we realize that we are now going to have to work even harder.” |
| Highlights of the night included 7 kills from Lindsey McDonald; 6 kills from Ali Way, 5 kills and 8 blocks from Jasmine Carrington, 5 kills and 8 blocks from Shelby Franzen, and 15 assists from Jordyn Kurek. Scores from the night included: Varsity: 23-25; 17-25; 25-23; 25-22; 18-20; JV: 21-25; 18-25; Freshman: 6-25; 25-18; 15-1. The Lady Bucs' overall record is 17-9 with a district record to date of 3-2. District standings: Warren 4-0; Hardin 4-0; EC 3-2; Buna 2-2; Deweyville 2-2; Anahuac 0-4; Kountze 0-5. View slideshow. | |
On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, the Lady Bucs brought home a win over the Kountze Lionettes. Ali Way led the Lady Bucs with 9 kills and Shelby Franzen was close on her heels with 7 kills. Mallory Franzen had 4 blocks, while Jordyn Kurek led in assists with 18 and digs with 3. Coach Wagner stated, “We started off strong in the first two games, but something happened in the third. The girls started off rocky and got down on themselves. Even though we fought our way back, we just ran out of time and lost the third game. The girls rallied back and played strong the fourth game in order to get another district win. We are now focused on Friday’s game against Buna!” The night's scores were: Varsity : 25-20; 25-20; 21-25; 25-18; JV: 25-18; 25-15; Freshman: 25-20; 25-21.
The Lady Bucs traveled to Anahuac Friday night to gain their second district win. Lindsey McDonald led the Lady Bucs in kills with 10 and in digs with 5. Shelby Franzen and Abbey Johnson each had 3 kills. Mallory Franzen led in blocks with 3. Coach Wagner commented, “We had a little adversity to overcome Friday night, but the team showed their character and took it all in stride. I was impressed by the way that they were able to change up our entire game plan and still persevere. They do a great job of focusing on the task right in front of them in order to achieve the high goals that they have set.” Varsity ended the night with a win in 3: 25-12, 25-22, 25-2. Junior varsity won with scores of 25-12; 21-25; 15-8, while the freshman lost by 19-25; 22-25.
If you wanted to see what a game of volleyball is supposed to look like, then you should have been in the gym to watch the Lady Bucs take on the Hardin Lady Hornets Tuesday night, September 15, 2009. Although the Lady Bucs fell to the Hornets in five games: 25-22; 20-25; 25-15; 22-25; 19-21, amazing volleyball skill was displayed. Ali Way led the Lady Bucs in kills with 5, and Lindsey McDonald, Shelby Franzen, and Abbey Johnson were close behind with 4 kills each. Once again the Lady Bucs dominated on the net with Mallory and Shelby Franzen having 8 blocks each. Jasmine Carrington and Ali Way were not far behind with 6 blocks each. Karrie Bennett played excellent defense and picked up 4 digs. According to Coach Wagner, “We came into this game knowing that we were going to have to show up ready to play. I felt the girls played an incredible game and although we fell short on the scoreboard, we know that we can win. This team is young and has taken huge strides to get where they are today. I always tell the girls that you have to make every play as perfect as possible, and last night's game came extremely close to perfection.”
The Lady Bucs opened their district season on Friday, September 11, 2009, with the Deweyville Pirates. Leading the Lady Bucs to a victory were Lindsey McDonald and Jasmine Carrington each with 3 kills. Sisters, Mallory and Shelby Franzen, dominated the net with 5 blocks for Mallory and 3 for Shelby. Ali Way had 6 assists and Jordyn Kurek had 4. Coach Wagner commented, “The girls played well Friday night, but I don’t feel that it was our strongest showing of the season. We were a little off and in some of the plays it showed. I am proud of the girls for starting out our district play with a win, and I know they are getting fired up for Tuesday night's game against Hardin. We are going to have to show up ready to play and ready to fight for our second win in district.” The girls ended the night 15-7 overall and 1-0 in district.
The Lady Bucs came out strong against Orangefield on Tuesday night, but ended up falling to them in three. The Lady Bucs were led in kills by Lindsey McDonald with 7; Mallory Franzen and Ali Way both had 3 kills. Mallory Franzen also led in blocks with 5. Jordyn Kurek had 8 assists, and Ali Way had 6. Coach Wagner commented, "I was very proud of the girls and the level of play that they displayed against the 3A Bobcats. We knew that Orangefield was a very strong team and that we were facing a tough game. I think that this was a great way to get ready for our district play which starts Friday."
Tuesday night the Lady Bucs traveled to Lumberton. What started out as a frustrating night for the freshman and JV, ended with a victory for the varsity. After struggling and falling to the 4A Lady Raiders 23-25 in the first game, the Lady Bucs tried to get focused and pull ahead in the second game. Coach Wagner commented, “At the beginning of the second game I was a little worried. The girls were frustrated and down 19-9. After refocusing and pulling themselves together, the team turned it around and won 25-23. I was very proud of them!' The Lady Bucs went on to win the third game 25-21, and the fourth game 25-12. “This was a big win for us. The girls proved to themselves that no matter how bleak the situation looks, if they will pull together as a team and play their game, we can come out with a victory.”
The Lady Bucs competed in the Buna Tournament on Thursday, August 27 and Saturday, August 29. The girls started out strong on Thursday ending up first out of six teams in their pool. Returning on Saturday, the Lady Bucs defeated Jasper in two, but then fell to Evadale in three. When facing West-Orange Stark, the girls again came out with a victory that sent them to play for third place against Buna. After a long and tiresome day, the Lady Bucs fell to Buna in two, sending them home with fourth place. "It was a long day on Saturday, and we played a lot of volleyball. I think that we learned some lessons that were hard to take at the moment, but in the end will only help us to get stronger," commented Coach Wagner.
On Friday, August 28, the Lady Bucs traveled to Colmesneil for a victory. All three teams had a great night. The varsity played first and won in three: 25-22; 25-23; 26-24. The JV won in two: 25-21; 25-12. And the Freshman lost in two: 26-28; 20-25. The freshman played extremely well, and even though it was not a win on the score board, the girls had a victory. Coach Wagner said, "It was their best game all season, and Coach Baker and I were very proud of them. With all the girls being actively involved in more than one event on a Friday night, I thought they did an excellent job of staying focused."
The Lady Bucs struggled slightly against Woodville on Tuesday night. After falling behind in the first game, the Lady Bucs came back in the second, third and fourth games to pull out a win. Lindsey McDonald led EC in kills with 11, Shelby Franzen had 9, and Ali Way finished the night with 6. Our top blockers were Shelby Franzen with 9 and Jasmine Carrington with 5. Jordyn Kurek had 23 assists and Ali Way had 12. Coach Wagner commented, "We have some good potential, but it is our consistency that we are lacking at this time. Overall, the Lady Bucs played hard and added another win making us 9-4."
ECHS varsity volleyball recently participated in the Vidor Tournament on August 13 and 15, 2009. During Thursday's competition, East Chambers played and beat Memorial 15-9, 15-7; Kountze 15-11, 15-13; and Liberty 15-5, 15-5. During play on Saturday, EC played and beat Liberty 25-12, 25-20; played but lost very close games to Orangefield 25-27, 21-25; and played Nederland with scores of 22-25, 25-20, and 15-11. East Chambers won third place and was the only 2A school to advance to the final rounds.