Wylie East freshman Tess Adamic, pictured in previous action, did all that she could to help keep the Lady Raiders in Tuesday’s match against Garland. Photo by Oladipo Awowale / C&S Media
By Mark Saldana
Wylie East battled point for point but was unable to break through as Garland swept the Lady Raiders in three sets Tuesday night, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, in a 2-6A District 9 volleyball matchup. The loss put Wylie East at 1-1 in district play.
Garland came out strong in the opening set, jumping to an early 8-4 lead as Wylie East struggled with unprompted errors. That was until Tess Adamic sparked the Raiders’ momentum with a kill which cut the deficit to 11-8, followed by a powerful finish from Rileigh Brown that kept Wylie East within striking distance at 14-10. The Lady Raiders clawed back late, trimming Garland’s lead to 22-20, but Garland held on to take the first set, 25-22.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle between the two. Adamic once again delivered early with a kill to tie the score at 6-6, and Wylie East grabbed its first lead of the night at 13-12. The teams traded points down the stretch, with the score tied at 20-20. Garland closed out strong, however, stringing together key points to pull out another 25-22 win and grab a 2-0 advantage in the match.
With their backs against the wall, Wylie East opened the third set with urgency. The Raiders quickly went ahead 5-2, forcing Garland to call a timeout. The teams remained neck-and-neck midway through the set, deadlocked at 15-15. Garland’s attack then found its rhythm, pushing ahead 20-17. Despite a late rally from Wylie East that cut the score to 23-21, Garland sealed the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
The match featured several bright moments for Wylie East despite the loss. Adamic’s consistent kills provided energy throughout, while Brown’s highlight strike in the first set kept the Raiders in contention. Lexi Cooper also chipped in a kill during a key stretch in the opener to narrow Garland’s lead.
For Garland, the sweep was a showcase of resilience in closing sets. The Owls capitalized on Raider miscues early and executed cleanly in late points to secure the straight-set win.
Last weekend, Wylie East competed in the Northwest ISD Volleyball Classic, compiling a 3-8 record to finish 24th out of 32 teams. The Lady Raiders opened with a sweep of Odessa High (25-15, 25-13) before falling to Amarillo (25-7, 25-14) and Byron Nelson (25-23, 25-15). They bounced back Friday with wins over Cleburne (25-18, 25-12) and Vandegrift (23-25, 25-14, 25-21) before dropping a match to Waxahachie (25-22, 25-13). Saturday play brought close losses against Prosper (25-21, 25-12, 25-23) and Boswell (25-22, 25-18, 25-19).
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