West Texas Comanches win five-set thriller over Olton in Bi-District playoff match
On the night of trick or treating, fans of the West Texas Comanches got a treat.
Heck, fans of volleyball in general got a treat Monday.
West Texas came out on top of a five-set thriller against Olton in a Class 2A bi-district round of the playoffs 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 22-25, 15-7. The win advanced Stinnett to the area round, facing off against the Sterling City-Anthony winner. Olton’s season comes to a close.
"That was an emotional game," West Texas libero Zoe Smith said. "I don't know what to say."
The first set, which was as back-and-forth, established the tone for the rest of the match. Neither team led by more than two points as they battled to a 19-19 tie. Olton closed the set out with six unanswered points to win. The Comanches had a few issues early on that they were able shake off later.
"The game started with me completely screwing up the lineups," West Texas coach Tayler Frye said with a laugh. "We had it all mixed up, and I don't even know how we got through that first set. But the girls persevered, and we got through it. It was a little bit of a roller coaster, kind of like how our season has been, but we definitely ended on a high point."
Set two saw the Comanches jump out to a 4-0 lead before Olton flipped the tables and raced out to a 11-6 advantage. West Texas did the flipping then, battling to a 20-20 draw before scoring five of the last six points to take set two.
The third set was more to West Texas' liking as the Comanches raced out to a 20-9 advantage before closing it out.
Set four, however, was again a tight contest. West Texas raced out to a 6-2 lead before Olton battled back to tie it eight different times until it was 22-22. The Fillies scored three unanswered to close the fourth set out and force a decisive fifth.
It looked like it would be another tight one as the two teams traded blows to a 6-6 draw. The Comanches caught fire from there, outscoring Olton 9-1 the rest of the way to take the set and the game.
Credit the Fillies for hanging tough throughout. With no seniors on the roster, count on them to be back next year.
"They were truly resilient tonight," Olton coach Ruth Beelitz said of her squad. "They're a young team, a new team that's never played together until this season. I'm lucky I have no seniors so I'm not losing any of them. I told all of them that we're going to be back here next year bigger and stronger. I have no doubt they're going to be able to go extremely far next year."
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Texas Comanches win five-set thriller over Olton in Bi-District playoff match
