TEXARKANA, Texas -- Liberty-Eylau committed 14 more unforced errors than Paris and were swept, 25-16, 25-17, 25-15, in a District 15-4A, Div. II volleyball match on Tuesday at the Rader Dome.
"Compared to how we played at Paris, it was a huge improvement," Lady Leopards head coach Regina Estrada said. "The losses are never easy to take, but we showed up. The girls are showing improvement. We made them earn every point."
Liberty-Eylau (7-23, 0-8) had 37 unforced errors in the match, while the Lady Cats ( 23-8-1, 7-1) had 23. Ja'Niya Sanders paced the Leopards with 10 kills.
Paris took serve in the first set up 5-4. The Wildcats scored eight consecutive points to take a 12-4 lead. The teams played on even terms, trading a point or two here and there.
Liberty-Eylau's Brooklynn Garner served in an ace to inch the Leopards closer, 23-16. Paris hit two consecutive kills to close out the set.
The Wildcats built an early 6-1 advantage in the second set and never relinquished the lead. Paris slammed in kills at a ratio of just over 2 to 1, with 13 to the Leopards' 6. L-E had 12 unforced errors in the second set, and the Wildcats had 10.
The third set had just two ties at 1 and 2-all. After Paris took a 3-2 edge, the Leopards would neither tie or lead in the set. The Wildcats had a hitting error which gave Liberty-Eylau the serve with Paris up, 15-10.
Alyssa Fulton took the server's box for the Leopards. Sanders powered down a kill down the right baseline to make it a 4-point affair, 15-11. Fulton fired in an ace as Liberty-Eylau crept to within three, 15-12.
The Wildcats pulled away late in the third as they scored five consecutive points to clinch the match. The Leopards had 16 unforced errors in the third, while Paris had 6.
Kaci Otwell had seven service points in the junior varsity match for the Leopards, who lost 25-7, 25-16.