Dream Weaver: Junior delivers another big performance as Belton beats Copperas Cove
Published September 23, 2009
BELTON - Grace Weaver rested an ice bag against her shoulder to nurse her tired muscles.
The Belton junior had just delivered a career-high performance with 33 kills against Copperas Cove, one that even caught her by surprise.
"Wow! Oh my gosh, I did?" she said with a wide-eyed glare.
Weaver might have been unaware of the individual statistics, but she fully understood how important Tuesday's match was with the Lady Bulldawgs. After losing in five games to Bryan last Friday, Belton rebounded to top Cove 25-21, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23 in a pivotal District 12-5A match at Tiger Gym.
"This is a really big win for us," said Weaver, who also had 20 digs. "We had a little bitter ending to that (against Bryan). We wanted to mix things up a little bit in the district since they lost to Cove. We just needed a little fire under us."
Since district play has begun, Weaver has been the one supplying the most firepower. Excluding the loss against No. 9-ranked and first-place College Station A&M Consolidated, the three-year starter has averaged 30 kills and 19 digs per match and has Belton (8-20, 2-2) in contention for second.
"I guess I just felt I needed to do that in order for us to win," she said.
Added Lady Tigers coach Justeen Patton: "That kid is playing unbelievable. That kid does whatever you ask her to do - put it in zone 6 a little to the left and she goes and swings away and puts it right where you want it. Anything she can do for the team she's doing."
Setter Brooke Malcik's improved play has plenty to do with Weaver's outburst. Malcik has been finding Weaver on both sides in the front row, in the middle and in the back row to give Belton's top player added opportunities.
"She's placing the ball right where she wants to set it," Patton said of Malcik, who had 39 assists. "She's setting it to who needs to get the ball. She's smart and is playing with a lot more confidence."
Stephanie Stryker had seven blocks and Chelsea Lomprey had 15 digs and two aces.
The Lady Tigers trailed the Lady Bulldawgs (22-7, 2-2) 21-19 in Game 4 before rallying. Weaver's kill from the back row and a Cove error tied it at 21. Weaver's 10th kill of the game and Malcik's block for a point offset Kelly Kearns' two kills to tie it at 23.
Then Lady Bulldawgs hitter Amber Moore had her attack just sail long before a net violation ended the match.
"We're fighters this year," said Patton, whose team rallied from a 12-point deficit in Game 4 against Bryan last Friday. "The kids are playing with heart, which you can't ask for anything more. It's fun to be around, it's fun to have, it's fun to watch."
Belton took control in Game 1 behind Weaver's eight kills.
After an error gave the Lady Tigers a 20-19 lead, Weaver slammed a free pass for a point and easily guided a winner down the line for a 22-19 lead. She added two more kills, with the final one ending Game 1.
"Our block was just non-existent tonight," Cove coach Cari Lowery said. "With only one hitter we let her do whatever she wanted to. We should have been able to control the game with them just having one hitter, but we just didn't do it."
The Lady Bulldawgs responded, leading nearly all of Game 2. Weaver's consecutive kills made it 22-19 but Belton's two errors with a Phyliccia Cross kill sandwiched in between tied the match.
In Game 3, Weaver's kill and Malcik's behind-the-head tip for a point gave the Lady Tigers a 15-12 lead. Weaver added three more kills and Malcik served two aces to stretch the lead to 21-13 before going on for the easy win.
"We let them suck us in to playing the kind of ball they play and not playing our game," Lowery said. "We never got any rhythm going defensively or offensively. We'd do a couple of things and then break the momentum ourselves."
Belton now heads to the light portion of its schedule, beginning with its home match against Harker Heights at 5:30 p.m. Friday, then Killeen Ellison and Killeen Shoemaker the following week.
Said Patton: "We still have to work hard. Nothing is written in stone."
http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2009/09/23/60822
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