VOLLEYBALL: Lady Mustangs win 20th match, alone in second place

The Nixon-Smiley Lady Mustangs won their 20th match of the year and improved to 4-1 and take solo possession of second place in District 26-3A play with a four-set victory at Stockdale on Friday, Sept. 24.

The Lady Mustangs won the first set, 26-24, and the second by a 25-19 score. After falling in the third set, 17-25, Nixon-Smiley stormed back to reverse that score and win the fourth set, 25-17.

"It was a big win for us on the road. ," said Coach Loraine Zuniga. "I'm proud of all of the members of the team for competing and staying focused throughout the game. It was truly a team effort.

"Our three seniors (Greenlee Houseton, Abby Fox and Christiana Ramirez) stepped up and made some key plays for us when we really needed it."

The Lady Mustangs (20-10 overall) have only lost five sets overall in district play so far, with three of those coming in their first-round loss to district leader Universal City Randolph.

Fox led Nixon-Smiley with a team-high 13 kills, while Houseton added five blocks. Natalee Mendez had five serving aces. Kaidence Pecina made 35 digs and Ramirez had 37 assists for the Lady Mustangs.

Nixon-Smiley hosted Great Hearts Northern Oaks on Tuesday, Sept. 28 (pink out game) and will host Great Hearts Monte Vista on Friday, Oct. 1, to wrap up the first round of district play.