Seward Drops Two in Tyler

Ian Applegate

TYLER, Texas – The No. 6 Seward County volleyball (18-5) team dropped two matches in Tyler to finish the TJC Invitational with a 1-3 record. The Lady Saints lost to Blinn in four set () to start the day, before falling to No. 13 Tyler in five sets.

NO. 6 SEWARD COUNTY VS BLINN

Seward made set one look easy, quickly doubling up the Buccaneers by a score of 12-6. That six-point lead was enough to last the remainder of the set as the Lady Saints took set won 25-19. Giovanna Tapigliani and Djuly Schmorantz led the Lady Saints with three kills apiece in set one.

The momentum appeared to switch in set two, as Blinn jumped out to a five-point lead, by a score of 11-6. After the Bucs pushed the score to 17-12, the Lady Saints went on an 8-1 run to take a late two-point lead. That lead didn’t last long as Blinn took back the lead after tying the set at 23, eventually winning 26-24.

It took seven points before Seward got on the board in set three as the Buc took a commanding 6-1 lead to start the set. The Lady Saints were unable to make up the ground lost to begin the set, and with Seward still trailing by five at 20-15, Blinn won the five remaining points over the next eight played to win the set 25-18 and take a 2-1 advantage.

The Lady Saints held their ground for much of the fourth set until the set was tied at nine. The Buccaneers were able to open up a 9-3 run to put Seward into desperation mode as they tried to keep the match alive. The Lady Saints were unable to muster any late match heroics as the Bucs were able to complete the upset, defeating Seward 25-17 to win in four sets.

NO. 6 SEWARD COUNTY VS NO. 13 TYLER

Seward came out on the host schools court by taking an early 7-3 lead over the Apaches. The four-point lead was cut down late in the set as Tyler tied the Lady Saints at 16. A 5-1 run by the Lady Saints pushed their lead back up to four points and stayed there until Seward won the set 25-21.

Neither team could gain an advantage in the second set as the two sides traded points until the score stood at 20 points on both sides. A small 3-0 appeared to give Seward the advantage to end the set, but the Apaches fought back to tie the set at 24 before taking a one-point lead with a kill. The Lady Saints answered with one last 3-0 run to win the set 28-26.

It appeared that the Lady Saints were on their way to a sweep, as Seward jumped out to an 8-4 lead to begin the third set. The lead stayed at four as the score was pushed to 15-11. At that point, the momentum took a turn for the Apaches as they went on 10-1 run to make the score 21-16. Following an Esmadar Tavares kill, a red card issued to the Lady Saints pushed the score to 23-17 before two more points ended the set 25-17 in favor of the Apaches.

Playing on their home court, the set three win was enough to turn the tide for the Apaches as they jumped out to a 7-3 lead to start set four. Tyler’s lead ballooned to double-digits as the score sat at 22-11. Seward scored six of the next four points to cut the lead to seven, but it wasn’t enough as the Apaches finished the set 25-17 to force a decisive set five.

The fifth set was all Tyler as the Lady Saints failed to get on the board until the sixth point of the set. Schmorantz scored with back-to-back kills to cut the lead to three points, but that would be as close as Seward would get, as the Apaches successfully completed the two-set comeback, winning set three 15-6 and the match in five sets.

Seward will travel to Garden City on Wednesday for a 6:30 match against the Broncbusters.