ARGYLE — Argyle coach Clark Oberle wasn’t sure if his players were aware of what was on the line in Tuesday’s District 9-4A match against Sanger. They sure played like they did, though.
The Lady Eagles, ranked 11th in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 4A poll, played practically mistake-free while cruising to a 25-11, 25-19, 25-17 sweep to clinch the district title with two matches left.
Coming in, the Lady Indians trailed Argyle in the standings by one match and were the only team to have won a set against the Lady Eagles in district play.
“It was important that we make a statement tonight,” Oberle said. “They [Sanger] did beat us in one set the last time we played, so we wanted to come out strong. It was a very efficient performance.”
Argyle (30-7, 8-0 district) was playing at full strength for only the second time in district action, as Texas Tech commit Katy Keenan and junior Alexa Bass had missed time with injuries. Their presence Tuesday helped set the tone as Argyle used runs of 9-2 and 12-3 to fuel the opening-set win.
Eighmy Dobbins led the Lady Eagles with 12 kills while Keenan and Bass chipped in with eight and seven kills, respectively. Keenan had two blocks and Bass added 16 assists and three service aces.
The Lady Indians (25-10, 6-2) countered with a solid night from Erin Kearney, who finished with seven kills, two aces, six assists and two digs. Jaylen Pegues added five kills and two blocks and Mady Jacobs had four kills.
Sanger coach Tammy Niemczyk said it was difficult to contend with Argyle’s near-perfect play.
“They [Argyle] didn’t have many errors tonight, and our energy level was too low,” Niemczyk said.
When these teams met Oct. 3, the Lady Indians stole a tight opening set before dropping the next three.
The first set on Tuesday started as if it, too, would be a back-and-forth battle. Yet with the score tied at 3, Argyle went on a 9-2 run for a 12-5 lead. Sanger pulled to within five points on a huge kill from Jacobs, but Argyle extended its lead to 13 points before scoring two of the set’s final three points for the win.
Sanger trailed by three points thanks to a brief 4-1 run midway through the second set, but a combo block from Keenan and Bass kick-started a 5-1 run that gave the Lady Eagles a 20-13 lead. Sanger pulled to within five points on a kill from Jacobs and an Argyle error, but the Lady Eagles squashed the rally and set up the chance for a sweep.
In the third, Argyle jumped out to a 12-point lead and still led 24-13 before Sanger put together a brief rally. The Lady Eagles closed out the match on the next play.
“I thought the defensive effort was big for us tonight, and as a coach you like to see that this late in the season,” Oberle said. “We didn’t have a lot of errors, so overall it was a great win.”
STEVE GAMEL can be reached at 940-566-6869 and via Twitter at @NewspaperSteve.
