This past weekend the Arabians attended an overnight tournament in Columbus, Texas. They played against tough competitors to gain experience and practice, coming out third in their pool and then competing in the silver bracket. They played six teams in the following order St Joseph, Texas City, Goliad, Industrial, Brazos, and El Campo.
“This was a great tournament to attend,” Coach Leigh Ann McIver said. “It had the atmosphere of a playoff game.”
Offensively, the Arabians gained a lot of practice scoring a total of 29 kills against St. Joseph. Addie Trojanowski had 12, Sierra Pompa with 9, Chesney Friesenhahn had 5, Megan Runyan had 2, and Alissa Stehle had 1. There were 5 aces; Trojanowski 3; Friesenhahn and Makenna Morales each with 1. Trojanowski had the only block of the game.
Defensively, they scored a total of 58 digs against St. Joseph. Eight girls contributed to the total: Pompa 1; Runyan 2; Richardson 3 Sydney Rendon 10; Stehle 5; Morales 20; Friesenhahn 9; Trojanowski 8. Two Arabians had assists, Trojanowski with 17 and Rendon with 8.
“We came out on fire in set 1! We were being aggressive all around the court. In set 2 things just did not go our way. We had way too many errors. But we fought back in set 3 to take the first win of the pool!” Coach McIver said.
The game against Texas City resulted in 15 kills, Pompa (3), Dana Aaron (1), Friesenhahn (6), Trojanowski (4), Caimee Fowler (1). Amanda Richardson and Trojanowski both served an ace and Friesenhahn blocked twice.
The Arabians scored 30 digs against Texas City: Pompa, Aaron, Rendon, and Fowler, 1; Runyan, Stehle, Ortiz, and Friesenhan, 2; Richardson and Trojanowski, 3; and Morales, 12. Contributing to the 12 assists were Trojanowski 7, Rendon 4, and Morales 1.
“This was a good game for us to play because it allowed us to work on not just our skills but keeping our focus in the game. We did a great job of that in set 1 but got a little too comfortable in set 2 but was able to snap back into it and take the win,” Coach McIver said.
During the Goliad match three girls scored 10 kills each; Pompa, Friesenhahn and Trojanowski, and Runyan had 1. Trojanowski was the sole Arabian to score an ace, and Pompa, Friesenhahn and Trojanowski each had a block.
Against Goliad the Arabians had 68 digs; Morales (26), Richardson and Trojanowski (10), Friesenhahn (9), Rendon (8), Pompa (3), and Runyan and Fowler (1). Five Arabians assisted; Trojanowski (17), Rendon (80, Morales (2), and Pompa and Richardson (1).
“We really beat ourselves in this match. We had a lot of errors that were unforced and we weren’t moving as fast on defense as we usually do. We looked great in set 2! But we dug ourselves too big of a hole to recover from,” Coach McIver said.
The Arabians won against Industrial. They had 28 kills; Pompa (12), Friesenhahn (9), Trojanowski (6), and Stehle (1). Trojanowski served the only ace. Aaron and Friesenhahn each had one block.
They had 53 digs against Industrial: Morales 21; Friesenhahn 9; Rendon 7; Puente 6; Trojanowski 4; Richardson 3; Pompa, Runyan, and Stehle each with 1. Rendon had 7 and Trojanowski had 21 assists.
“Man this was a great game! It had the atmosphere of a playoff game. We came out great in set 1. We really controlled the ball and did everything with a purpose. Set 2 was a different story where once again we made way too many unforced errors. But the girls regrouped in set 3 and came out on top. This game really showed the level we can and are able to play at,” Coach McIver said.
Against Brazos they had a total of 32 kills: Trojanowski 15; Pompa and Friesenhahn 6; Stehle 3; and Runyan 2. Trojanowski served the only 2 aces and Aaron had the only 2 blocks.
During the Brazos game, there were 60 digs: Morales 20; Trojanowski 10; Friesenhahn 9; Puente 7; Rendon 5; Pompa 4; Runyan 3; Richardson and Stehle each with 1. Contributing to the assists were Trojanowski with 17, Rendon with 10, and Puente with 1.
“We did not come out with our best game in set 1 but we came out with the win. In set 2 we started playing real tense and weren’t connecting on the plays like we had been. Going into set 3 we just couldn’t put a run together to get back into the game and overcome things just not going right,” Coach McIver said.
In their final game against El Campo they had 26 kills: Friesenhahn and Trojanowski 8; Pompa 6; Stehle 4. Contributing to the 12 aces were Richardson and Trojanowski 3 each, Puente 2, Rendon, Stehle, Morales, and Friesenhahn each with 1. The only blocks came from Friesenhahn who had 4 and Aaron who contributed 1.
In the final game, they had 24 digs: Morales 10; Trojanowski 6; Friesenhahan 3; Ortiz 2; Runyan, Rendon, and Stehle each with 1. They had a total of 23 assists: Trojanowski 16; Rendon 6; and Morales 1.
“We played much better in this match then we did against Brazos. Our focus was much better and we were not as tense. We showed once again what level we are capable of playing at. It was a good way to end the tournament, Even though we did not end up in the gold bracket and play for the championship like we wanted, I think we learned some valuable lessons from this tournament that will help us throughout the season and the playoffs. We know the level we should be playing at and that we are capable of playing there. Now we just have to make sure we have the focus going into games and keeping it throughout the whole match,” Coach McIver said.
The Arabians host their 16th annual Varsity Arabian Round-Up Tournament this weekend.
“Even though we did not end up in the gold bracket and play for the championship like we wanted, I think we learned some valuable lessons from this tournament that will help us throughout the season and the playoffs,” Coach McIver said. “We know the level we should be playing at and that we are capable of playing there.”
By Abby Kohlleppel
Staff Writer
