Volleyball: Andrews trying to ride the roller coaster a little longer

Outside of what’s on tap tonight, little has gone according to any logical plan the last three months for Andrews High School’s volleyball team.

But second-year Lady Mustangs head coach Julie Etheredge wouldn’t change any of it.

All of Andrews’ ups and downs are reflected in its 19-19 record. But it’s all worked out heading into a Class 3A bi-district playoff match against Tornillo (19-13) at 8 tonight in Pecos.

Few moments, of course, were as nerve-racking as heading into a fifth set Friday against Lamesa in a match that would keep one of the teams out of the playoffs.

Andrews came through in the clutch to pull off a 21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 16-25, 15-6 victory that helped break a three-way tie for second place in the District 3-3A standings.

“It’s been a roller coaster of a season,” Etheredge said. “Even back in preseason, we’d play great one game and then we’d turn around the same day and stink it up. We were very inconsistent, but what I told the girls right before district was it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.

“They’ve kept that in the back of their minds the whole team and they’ve really been focused on finishing strong.”

The Lady Mustangs started the season with only two players who had varsity experience — seniors Heather Rawls and Melanie Gonzales.

It was then up to a cast of younger, though talented and athletically gifted, players to get up to speed in time to compete in District 3-3A with the likes of Monahans, Seminole and Lamesa.

Etheredge said solutions didn’t come immediately, with position changes and lineup shuffling a staple of the opening weeks.

But the development happened, with sophomore middle blocker Callie Ives averaging 12.6 kills and 18.3 digs during Andrews’ last 11 matches while Rawls has averaged seven kills a match over the same span.

Mackenzie Long and Baley Badgett are sharing the setting duties and averaged double-figure assists over the last month of the season. There’s also players like sophomore middle blocker Keely White, who earned a varsity spot after the early stages of the season; sophomore Rayna Diaz, who has become a strong blocking presence while also producing over all six rotations; and senior Mayra Baeza, a former setter who is thriving in a defensive specialist role.

“My kids are very intelligent,” Etheredge said. “They’re very smart and they thrive on trying to be perfect. They’re very competitive and they just want to do better than the time before when they do something.”

The ultimate test came in the season’s closing stretch, when Andrews lost control of its playoff fate and a three-match winning streak by dropping a four-set match at Lamesa.

Andrews responded with a spirited effort in a home loss to Monahans before closing with a victory against Brownfield. That tied Andrews, Lamesa and Seminole at 6-4 in the 3-3A standings, with Seminole winning a coin flip to get excused out of the elimination match.

When it came down to the deciding fifth set, even after struggling with errors while losing the fourth, the Lady Mustangs stared down the pressure to earn the playoff spot. By winning a coin flip later, they were awarded 3-3A’s No. 2 seed, to boot.

“Just how we’ve been playing since we lost to Lamesa (on Oct. 20) shows me it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened,” Etheredge said. “It let me and the kids know we have to raise our level coming into this part of the season. Based on who else is in the playoffs, I’m sure we’re going to be underdogs, but I think we might surprise some people.”

BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS

>> CLASS 5A
Midland Lee vs.
El Paso Franklin,
5 p.m. Tuesday, Loving, N.M.

Midland High vs.
El Paso Coronado,
7 p.m. Tuesday, Loving, N.M.

>> CLASS 3A
Seminole vs. Pecos,
7 p.m. Tuesday,
Midland Christian.

Andrews vs. Tornillo,
TBA.

>> CLASS 2A
Kermit vs. Shallowater,
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Seminole.

Crane vs. Littlefield,
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Seminole.

>> CLASS 1A
Fort Davis vs. Van Horn,
time TBA Tuesday,
Sul Ross State, Alpine.

Buena Vista vs. Sterling City,
5 p.m. Tuesday, UTPB.

Balmorhea vs. Dell City,
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Pecos.

Plains vs. Water Valley,
7 p.m. Tuesday, UTPB.