By Pat Turner
Contributing Writer

Smithson Valley ends first round play in the District 26-5A volleyball race Friday against Roosevelt and things are looking favorable for the Rangers.

The Rangers go into the final match with a 4-3 district mark, which is good enough to be in the thick of the 26-5A race.

Churchill leads the pack and Reagan sits in second, while New Braunfels, Johnson and Smithson Valley are battling for the next two spots.

The Rangers, who lost in three games to Churchill Friday, bounced back from the setback with a 25-6, 25-12, 25-13 sweep of Lee this past Tuesday.

Despite three district losses, Smithson Valley coach Liana Gombert has watched her Rangers grow during the first round.

She’s hoping that maturity will make a bigger difference in round two, which begins Tuesday against Reagan.

“We’re getting better as a team,” Gombert said. “We lost against Churchill, but I told the girls they way they played, we would have beaten 90 percent of the teams in the state. We played well in all three of our losses in district. We’re young and we’re expecting to do better in the second half.

“The second round is going to be exciting all the way. I’m looking forward to it. We’re not going to relax until it is all said and done.”

The win over Lee was a good example of everything clicking as the Rangers shined in a number of areas.

Chelsea Gibson (10) and Lydia Werchan (8) led the way in kills, while Elizabeth Pawelek provided 19 assists.

Leigh Larralde delivered the serving heroics with five aces, while Paige Hamilton came through with 14 digs.

“We had a good match,” Gombert said. “We had a chance to get everyone in the game and see what they could do. I was happy to see that.”