On Tuesday, September 29, 2020, the Lady Rockets Volleyball team (0-3) faced off against the Clemens Buffaloes (3-2) at Judson High School. 

The first set began with a spike from junior Samantha Providence for Judson’s first point of the game, but Clemens responded right back with a point of their own. Suddenly, the Rockets found themselves down 4-1 after a long rally, ending in Clemens’ favor. After another successful rally, Clemens doubled their lead making it 8-1 early on in the first set. Judson still couldn’t find an answer for the Buffaloes as they found themselves down 11-1 after they called for their first timeout. No matter what the Rockets did, they could not overcome the Buffaloes aggressive offense as constant mental mistakes stopped them from gaining any momentum as they found themselves losing the first set 25-6

To start the second set, Clemens and Judson battled back and forth with two very long rallies but Clemens prevailed as they made the lead 3-1 with no sign of slowing down from the aggressiveness they showed in the first set. Judson showed signs of a comeback as they brought the lead to 5-8 with the help of senior Tatiana Gladdin and junior Madalynn Thornton. Although Judson was trying to spark a comeback, Clemens continued to keep them at bay as the lead was cut to 11-9 with Judson down by two points. Judson’s mental mistakes caused them to call a timeout as Clemens widened the lead to 17-10 late in the second set. The Rockets fought hard but couldn’t get over their own mistakes, losing every chance they had to gain momentum and finally obtain the lead. The Rockets lost the second set 26-12. 

With determination to make up for the first two sets, Judson began the third set aggressively as a block and a kill gave them a 2-0 lead early in the third. After four consecutive scores for Clemens, the lead was brought to 4-3 as the Buffaloes successfully completed a comeback and shot down Judson’s attempt to finally obtain a decent-sized lead. Back-to-back blocks and a kill for Judson brought the Rockets within one as Clemens was only leading 8-7 early in the third.

Yet again, Judson made an attempt at a comeback as a kill from sophomore Sa’Ryah Washington brought them back within one point as the score was 10-11 with Judson barely behind. Clemens was too much for the Rockets on both sides of the ball as they couldn’t find a way to score and couldn’t find a way to stop them from scoring. The Rockets found themselves down 18-11 after their first timeout of the third set. A huge serve from junior Dayana Vasquez-Alvarado and a stoppage on defense brought the lead within four as Judson was only trailing 20-16 late in the third. Judson tried to make a comeback yet again but was stopped short as they lost the third set 20-25 causing Judson to lose to Clemens 3-0 

The Lady Rockets Volleyball team (0-4) will play the East Central Hornets (2-3) on October 6, 2020, at East Central.

—-

If there are issues with this article, report it here.