The Odessa College volleyball team had a good start to the Lady Wrangler Classic, beating Laredo Community College in four sets before sweeping Garden City (Kan.) Friday afternoon at the OC Sports Center.

The Lady Wranglers won the first match 25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17, before earning the 25-13, 25-9, 25-19 sweep in their second outing of the day.

With the victories, Odessa College moved to 8-4 overall for the season.

"We came out with a lot of energy," said Odessa College head coach Kristi Gray. "That's something that we've been talking about all week because we've been a little inconsistent with it. It was great for the girls to come out strong."

Facing a 14-9 deficit in the first set against Laredo Community College, Odessa College's Carly Evetts got a kill to tighten the gap and the Lady Wranglers went on a 6-0 run to go in front.

Gabriela Abreu's kill then extended Odessa College's lead to three (19-16).

Mariana Ferreira's kill made it 23-19 soon after for the Lady Wranglers as they went on to win the set.

Odessa College carried the momentum into the second set, with an Evetts' kill putting the Lady Wranglers in control.

But the Palaminos responded with a run of their own to tie the set, 8-8, before the teams began trading points.

Finally, with Odessa College leading 19-18, Laredo started a 7-2 run to close out the second set and even the match.

A kill by Ferreira gave Odessa College a 3-2 lead early on in the third set and another quick run forced the Palominos to take a time out trailing 7-3.

But it was Odessa College that came out of the break looking energized, scoring three unanswered points.

"I would say that we did a better job of reading and playing defense and just keeping the ball in the system," Gray said.

A block by Alexis Parrish made it 15-7 and Evetts added a kill soon after.

A service error by Katarina Seres of Laredo College gave Odessa College a 20-13 advantage and it wasn't long before it finished out the set on top.

The Lady Wranglers wasted no time getting started in the fourth set, roaring to a 6-0 lead before the Palominos called a timeout. Kristi Gomez couldn't keep the ball in play and the Lady Wranglers took a 14-2 lead.

Odessa College continued to stay in front as they built a 20-4 advantage and cruised to the victory from that point.  Evetts had 13 kills to lead the way for Odessa College while Rashai Kailiwai had 11. Parrish and Ferreira each had nine kills. Abreu finished with eight.

"We've been working a lot on winning one point at a time and I think the girls brought the energy to that and did a great job of executing to that plan," Gray said.  Amanda Oliveira had 28 assists while Summer Ah Choy had 21.  Kailiwai had 19 digs to lead the Lady Wranglers while Oliveira had 16.

Against Garden City, Odessa College took the first set 25-13 before winning the second 25-9. They closed out the day with a 25-19 win in the third set.

In the first set, the Lady Wranglers took off on a fast not, cruising to a 16-9 advantage.  Odessa College wouldn't let up and after taking a 20-9 lead, went on a 5-4 run to take the set.

The second set was more or less the same as the Lady Wranglers took a 23-7 lead and didn't let the Broncbusters into the double digits.  Garden City kept things close in the third set but Odessa College found a way to finish and the Lady Wranglers completed the sweep.

Evetts had 10 kills against the Broncbusters while Abreu had eight.  Oliveira put up 17 assists and Ah Choy had 13. Both Ah Choy and Oliveira had three aces each.Sanchez had 16 digs while Oliveira had 15.

Article by Michael Bauer: Odessa American
Photo Mark Rogers: Odessa American