But a win and a trip to the Region IV-2A tournament in Brenham just wasn’t in the cards.
From the start, it was apparent that the Lady Trojans were outmatched as the Corpus Christi London Lady Pirates’ size and speed led them to them to a 25-6, 25-10, 25-8 sweep over San Perlita on Tuesday night in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal playoff match at Riviera High School.
London came out like a well-oiled machine as their hitters found the open spaces in the Lady Trojans’ defense almost at will, leading to a 16-0 start that would set the tone for the rest of the match.
Despite the loss, Lady Trojans head coach Maricelda Suarez knew it would be tough to match up with teams this far into the playoffs.
“When you get this far, you get teams like London that have the numbers and play volleyball year-round and that’s all they play,” Suarez said. “They came out and got on top and I think we may have gotten a little intimidated by their hitting. Still, I’m proud of how the girls came out and never quit.”
In the second and third sets, London didn’t let up on bit.
The Lady Pirates started out leading those sets 6-0 and 5-0, respectively, and led by at least 14 in both games.
Now, the Lady Trojans will look to rebound next season.
They will lose four seniors, including their top player in Mia Maurer.
Still, Suarez will use this season’s playoff run as a stepping stone.
“After this run, the girls now see what it takes to win at this level and what they need to do to be successful,” she said. “It takes a lot of work to get here, but it’s exciting to know that we were able to get here and that we were able to do it. It’s not out of our reach.
“We’re losing some seniors, but I really can see us back here next season.”