Fayetteville’s Comeback Falls Two Points Short in Regional Final

The Fayetteville volleyball team keeps knocking on the door of the state semifinals.

Eventually they’ll break through.

But Friday was not that time.

For the third consecutive season Fayetteville marched to the fifth round of the volleyball playoffs only to fall in the regional finals.

Friday in Kenedy, the Lady Lions picked themselves up off the court after losing the first two sets 25-22, 25-21 to D’Hanis and Fayetteville grabbed the next two sets 25-23, 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set.

Fayetteville was up 13-10 in that fifth set, but D’Hanis scored the match’s final five points to claim the win and the regional title.

“I’m shaking. It was so nerve-wracking,” said Fayetteville sophomore Brooklyn Jaeger, who had 44 kills in the match. “We were down after the first two sets, we felt like we had to win every point to build it back.

“It’s heart-breaking knowing we were two points away.”

Kayme Schley had 10 kills and Landry Wied had three.

Mattie Konvicka had six aces and Wied had three.

Jaeger had 29 digs, Konvicka, Schley and Alley Keen all had six digs. Wied had five, Peyton Jurecka had four digs and Rylie Dyer had three.

Wied had 48 assists.

“We got some of the looks we wanted those last few points and it just didn’t fall our way,” said Fayetteville head coach Clint Jaeger. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. The girls fought hard. They fought hard all year long, they knew what was on the line, but that’s the hardest I’ve seen them fight.”

These Lady Lions will only lose a single senior from this year, setter Landry Wied.

“It was fun being the only senior, you get to call the shots,” Wied said.

“Landry is going to be hard to replace,” Clint Jaeger said. “Her setting will be hard to replace but her happy-go-lucky attitude will really be tough to replace.”

Fayetteville ends its season with a 18-8 record. D’Hanis (25-4) now advances to face Neches in the state semis, a spot the Lady Lions have been so close to getting to three years now. Two years ago they lost to D’Hanis in the regional finals and last year they lost to Round Top-Carmine in this round. .

“We’re on the cusp of it,” Clint Jaeger said of making the state tournament.