The Midland Lee volleyball team made plenty of runs throughout Tuesday’s District 2-6A contest against Permian.

However, one of the most important runs came in the third set, when the Lady Panthers held a 13-6 advantage over the Lady Rebels.

Midland Lee eliminated that seven-point deficit over the next 11 points and eventually grabbed a 23-16 lead after a 17-3 run late in the third set.

That strong finish helped the Lady Rebels claim a 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 sweep over the Lady Panthers at the Permian Fieldhouse.

“In the third set, we got ahead and stayed ahead for a majority of the match,” Permian head coach Gillian Herrera said. “It’s a lot easier to play ahead than playing not to lose. We were playing to win that game. We got stuck in a rotation and gave up too many points.”

Permian senior libero Alissa Miramontez stated the team has to mentally rise above to break out of a certain rotation that’s causing the Lady Panthers trouble.

“We understand that some of our rotations are not as strong as others, so it gets in our heads that we are in that rotation,” said Miramontez, who posted a match-high 30 digs. “We stress it so much, but we have to act like it’s any other rotation and get out.”

Robert Blakely — the first-year head coach for Midland Lee — said his squad with consists of six seniors and seven underclassmen are continually learning how be a successful. The Lady Rebels improved to 22-12 overall and 3-0 in District 2-6A, while the Lady Panthers dropped to 17-12, 1-3.

“That seems to be the story of our season — we love to give away free points,” Blakely said. “Hats off to Permian. They have a lot of fight in them. We are still learning how to win. It’s been about seven years since Midland Lee has had a real successful season.”

During the final set, the match-winning point came off a dump from Midland Lee sophomore setter Jensen Letcher. That point marked one of her three kills in the match.

The Lady Rebels setters — Allie Gomez and Letcher — spread the wealth to their multitude of hitters. Gomez finished with a team-high 19 assists, while Letcher had 12. Emily Hillman finished with a match-high 12 kills. Kelsey Harrington added 11 and Quinci Strambler posted seven.

“It’s a little anticlimatic, but at the same time it’s smart,” Blakely said. “We hadn’t dumped all match. We played nearly three full sets and hadn’t dumped. No one was ready for it.”

In the first set, the Lady Panthers and Lady Rebels traded points until Midland Lee started to bridge a gap with a back-to-back points as the team took a 16-10 lead. Midland Lee and Permian sat even-keel over the final 18 points as each team scored nine.

During the second set, the Lady Rebels captured a 12-2 lead. The Lady Panthers went on an 8-2 run, but it wasn’t enough as Midland Lee answered with an 11-6 advantage.

Permian’s Tristiana Abila supplied a team-high 11 kills, while Enedina added nine. Chloe Rivera dished out 22 assists and Karissa Cortez had 16 assists and three aces.

The Lady Panthers continue their season as they travel to Amarillo Tascosa at 5 p.m. Friday. The Lady Rebels face Odessa High at 5 p.m. Friday at the OHS Fieldhouse.

“We are too early on (in the district season) to hang our heads and drop our shoulders,” Herrera said. “We still have plenty of matches and we are going to have to show up and get better every day and come prepared for the next one.”
