By Todd Wills
The season didn’t end like first-year Lady Tigers volleyball coach Amber Hughes-Feist wanted it to.
Neither did the second half of district play. After going 3-4 in 16-4A in the first half, the Lady Tigers lost six of their last seven games.
They ended the season Tuesday night with a 25-8, 25-10, 25-11 loss to Waco Midway, a ranked team headed to the playoffs.
That didn’t make the competitive Hughes-Feist feel any better. She came here from Duncanville to win matches. Corsicana went 4-10 in 16-4A, the same district record it had last year. The Lady Tigers were 10-20 overall for the season.
“We’re still trying to build a competitive spirit,” Hughes-Feist said. “We’re trying to change that mentality.”
Hughes-Feist made strides in that department, it just didn’t show up against Midway, ranked No. 20 in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association.
Midway intimidated the Lady Tigers with 10 kills in the first game. Corsicana moved to within 4-3 on a kill by Annie Starling, then lost nine straight points.
Game 2 also started on a down note for the Lady Tigers as Midway won 8 of the first 9 points. Katie Cook did have an ace to make it 11-6 and a kill to pull the Lady Tigers within 17-9, but Midway again went on an 8-1 run to end the second game.
Midway dominated game three as well, though senior Briana Smithart had back-to-back kills to pull Corsicana within 18-10.
But again Midway was able to close out another game with the Lady Tigers scoring only one more point.
Hughes-Feist was already in next-season mode after the match, saying that she was looking forward to a strong eighth-grade group on the way.
“I’m ready for it,” she said. “I’m ready right now.”
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