Newcastle battles Breckenridge as summer league wraps up

Newcastle battles Breckenridge as summer league wraps up News Staff Fri, 06/28/2024 - 3:02 pm

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Newcastle Ladycats finished their summer league this past Monday, June 24. The team has improved throughout the month as they prep for the coming fall season.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Newcastle’s Emma Hawkins gets ready to serve the ball during a summer league game Monday, June 24.

TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com

The calendar is on the verge of turning to July, and summer leagues are wrapping up in this last week of June, beginning with the volleyball league hosted at Graham High School.

Teams from around the area met in Graham for a final day of competition Monday, June 24, before they get a small break during July before fall camps start.

Graham’s teams got in work against Newcastle, Woodson, Breckenridge and Mineral Wells. The Newcastle Ladycats faced Breckenridge, Graham and Mineral Wells.

For the purposes of this write-up, we’ll take a look at the Ladycats and how they fared in their first match-up of the evening with the Breckenridge Lady Buckaroos. Due to the fact this summer league is an opportunity for growth, scores aren’t recorded (though they are kept during the game) and records don’t matter.

Games lasted 25 minutes with a running clock the entire time. Teams made their own line calls to assist the one official on each court.

The Ladycats showed plenty of positives during their first game as they held sizable leads at multiple times, but also showcased some growing pains. The team graduated a couple of top players this past year and are looking to improve with their group of younger athletes.

Newcastle ultimately fell to Breckenridge 32-30 in a hard-fought game on both sides. The Ladycats struggled late as they allowed a Lady Buckaroo comeback before time expired.

Breckenridge got off to the quick start as the Lady Bucks scored the first five points of the match before Newcastle’s Sophie Terrell earned a kill for her team’s first point. With a few Breckenridge errors and a couple of service aces, the Ladycats fought back to tie the game at 7-7.

Emma Hawkins helped give Newcastle the lead with a couple of kills followed by an ace to make it 11-8. But the Ladycats couldn’t seem to pull away at any point in the match as the Lady Bucks hung with them.

Throughout the middle portion of the match, Newcastle never held a lead higher than three points. But the Ladycats continued to maintain that lead despite efforts from the Lady Buckaroos.

Newcastle’s players found some success at the service line and punched down a few more kills to build up a 24-19 lead, one of their biggest of the game to that point. With a few more errors and another kill from Terrell, the Ladycats led 29-23 with a few minutes remaining in the game.

Things took a turn for Newcastle as Breckenridge scored eight straight points to capture the lead and make it 31-29. In the final minute of the game, the Lady Bucks committed an error to make it 31-30, and the final rally as the buzzer sounded extended the game. But ultimately, Breckenridge won the potential game-tying rally as the Lady Bucks earned the 32-30 win.

As the summer league has concluded, players of all teams have earned a small break. Fall camps are just around the corner, with most taking place at the end of July or beginning of August.

Newcastle and every other team have gained a lot of valuable experience before the new season.

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