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Stratford volleyball coach Becky Palermo didn’t know how to explain the Spartans’ first-set troubles against Westside Tuesday night.
The Spartans’ play in the second and third sets guaranteed she won’t have much time to worry.
Stratford trailed by a point late in the first set and rallied to win, then was rarely challenged in the next two sets of a 25-22, 25-5, 25-15 victory in a Region 3-5A bi-district game at Northbrook.
“Ugly, ugly, ugly,” Palermo said of the first set, in which Stratford trailed 22-21 but reeled off four straight points to win. “I don’t know how to figure that one out. All I care is that we won.”
With emphasis.
Stratford proceeded to look more like the team that until this year won six consecutive District 19-5A championships, scoring seven straight points twice in the second set and sprinting to a 19-8 lead in the third.
The Spartans (23-12) advance to play Cinco Ranch, likely at 5 p.m. Friday at The Merrill Center. The site and time will be finalized Wednesday.
Westside (19-16), a rebuilding Houston ISD team from District 20-5A, looked anything but intimidated in the first set. The Wolves built their lead to as much as 14-8 before Stratford refocused during a timeout.
Jennifer Jordan and Ashley Nunn served Stratford to within 20-18, the closest the Spartans had been since it was 5-4, then Valerie Noel’s kill over the middle gave the Spartans a 21-20 lead.
“We’ve been working forever and ever on calling people’s names (and) getting to the ball early,” Palermo said. “Where did that go in the first game? Then we started picking it up a notch.”
Mary Ellen Luck served out the last three points for the Spartans.
“We weren’t really prepared for that first game but then in the second game, we knew we had to step it up,” said Jordan, who had a game-high 18 kills. “It’s just going to get harder and harder from here.”
Luck had seven kills, Nunn six and Kendall McCord four.
Memorial 3, Carnegie 0
Undermanned Carnegie was anything but a pushover, matching up with 19-5A champion Memorial step-for-step much of the night before losing 25-13, 25-16, 25-12 at Northbrook.
The Mustangs (34-6), who have 17 players to Carnegie’s eight, played without outside hitter Paige Johnson, who suffered a concussion against Stratford. Right-side hitter Shawn Hindman saw limited time with a sore left knee.
Memorial jumped to a second-set lead of 13-3 and was ahead 17-6 in the third set but unforced errors helped make things interesting against Carnegie (15-11), from District 20-5A.
“It’s tough playing without girls you’re 32-5 with,” frustrated Memorial coach Beth Gammill said. “We just didn’t pass well and serve receive.”
Sidney Stewart had 10 kills for the Mustangs, who advance to play Katy Friday at a site to be determined Wednesday.
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