Lady Apaches fall to Karnes City in five sets

The Gonzales Lady Apaches played their final non-district match of the season against the Karnes City Lady Badgers Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The Lady Apaches fell to Karnes City in a tough five-set battle (18-25, 25-10, 15-25, 25-20, 13-15); this was the first time this season that Gonzales went to five sets in a match.

Gonzales head volleyball coach Kim Payne said her team has been working hard at practice, especially since the district opener against La Vernia is just around the corner.

“We've been working really hard, and they showed their stuff today, and I'm very proud of my team. They didn't let up,” Payne said.

The Lady Apaches recorded multiple kills from Isabella Ikard and Gabbrielle Torries; and multiple aces from libero Blakely Mercer, Alaina Valle and Shykayden Clack in the loss to Karnes City.

“They know my expectations and the serves. We're coming up to district, and I don't want any missed serves, so they know my expectations. I'm serving, and we worked really, really hard in practices on hitting and placing the ball and hitting where we need to hit where the holes are,” Payne said.

The Lady Apaches open up district on the road against the 16th-ranked La Vernia Lady Bears Friday, Sept. 27.

“We're going to watch film tomorrow and we're going to see where their weaknesses are, if they have any, and just prepare. We've got to learn from a high intensity game as we just played and carry this high intensity and go into a very high intensity atmosphere on Friday,” Payne said.

The La Vernia match starts at 6:15 p.m.