On Tuesday against Saginaw Chisholm Trail, Denton played down a setter but still managed a 25-17, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16 win to give itself a chance for a tie for first place in District 5-5A if it can win its last two matches, including the finale against first-place Saginaw Boswell.
“It kind of hurt us a lot in the standings of what we need to do and the pressure it puts on us to even have an opportunity to get first,” Denton coach Danielle Kading said of Friday’s loss to Wichita Falls Rider. “If we lose any of these next games, we’re automatically third. One of my kids [Emily Acker] got hurt a few minutes before we played [Rider], and psychologically we couldn’t overcome it.”
The Lady Broncos (26-9, 10-2 district) had to play without Acker on Tuesday, but they had Hannah Altman back at setter. Despite Altman’s return to the lineup, Denton still had to adjust to a new formation against the Lady Rangers (4-8 district).
“We ran a 6-2 the first game and then we moved to a 5-1 just because it was senior night to see how that went, and I liked it,” Kading said. “Acker kind of led us when Hannah was out, so she definitely has a presence on the court. It’s nice to have two setters.”
Kading said Altman, who led the Lady Broncos with 38 assists, looked good in her second game back from injury.
“She knew it was her senior night, so she definitely stepped up in the setting roll,” Kading said. “I thought she played well.”
Offensively, Denton was led by Kenzie Dozier’s 16 kills with four blocks, while Jade Akins added 13 kills and six blocks. Lindsay DeVore had eight kills, including several in Denton’s crucial fourth-set win.
Defensively, Emily Curtis led the Lady Broncos with 26 digs.
Denton shot out to a 5-2 lead on a 5-0 run in the first set and used a 6-2 spurt to take a 12-6 lead, which forced Chisholm Trail into a timeout. Another 5-0 run gave the Lady Broncos a 19-11 lead, which they turned into a 25-17 win.
The Lady Broncos fell behind 17-10 in the second set but rallied for a 25-21 win with a 7-0 spurt to close out the set.
Falling 25-19 in the third set, Kading said her team’s energy and enthusiasm were lacking.
“We had negative attitudes,” Kading said. “We dropped behind and kind of imploded on each other. We weren’t being good teammates, and I ran out of timeouts. We weren’t able to refocus and reset our minds.”
In the final set, the teams were tied at 11, but the Lady Broncos used an 11-3 run to secure the win and give themselves a chance for first place if they can defeat Azle at home on Friday and pass a road test Tuesday at Boswell.
“I believe in these girls,” Kading said. “We’re a little off right now, but if we can get everybody healthy, I think we can do some damage in the playoffs.”
PATRICK HAYSLIP can be reached at 940-566-6873 and via Twitter at @PatrickHayslip.
