Burnet volleyball beats Lampasas to give coach her 100th win
CAPTION: The Burnet Lady Dawgs celebrate head coach Crystal Shipley’s (front row, center) 100th victory after sweeping the Lampasas Lady Badgers Sept. 26. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School volleyball team crushed Lampasas 25-9, 25-8, 25-8 Sept. 26 to move to 2-0 in District 24-4A play.
The victory was especially meaningful since it was head coach Crystal Shipley’s 100th career victory.
“This is something I had no idea about,” she said. “I never know our record, I just don’t think about that because it is always ‘next game’ mentality for me. My husband (Steven) actually started keeping count about a month ago because he knew this was year five, and I could be getting close. He has been planning this celebration for a while and I had no clue. The girls have known for a while and they have kept it a surprise so that made it really special.”
While it’s a big milestone, Shipley said it’s one that’s a reflection of many people.
“I truly feel like this is a program accomplishment more than a Coach Shipley accomplishment,” she said. “It has been five years of five amazing teams and an incredible coaching staff that accomplished this. I just get to be a part of the ride. I am thankful for a family that understands the commitment a coach takes on. They truly are special and understand when I miss things. It is such an amazing feeling to have such dedicated family and great friends that are a part of this with me – through the good and the bad! They are my anchors.”
The match against Lampasas was over quickly, a testament to the work ethic and commitment of each Lady Dawg, the coach said.
“Everything and every player doing their job,” she said. “It wasn’t just one thing. They are all coming together and playing so unselfish. They had great chemistry and worked for every point.”
Not one hitter had more spikes than others, which is another positive by the setters. They want to distribute the ball to many, Shipley said.
“They are both doing an outstanding job and building that chemistry with their hitters,” she said. “Having six great hitters makes a team hard to beat because you can’t cheat to block just one.”
The impressive stat came on the scoreboard where the Lady Dawgs gave up a total of 25 points during the match. As pleased as Shipley was with the scoring, the Burnet defense makes it nearly impossible for opponents to score.
“We work daily on ‘bettering the ball’ and making anything playable,” she said. “They just have a champion mindset and they want to achieve so much this year and that drives the will to not give up on any ball. It has taken a lot of work on their part to develop this mentality, but they found it.”
The Lady Dawgs (19-10) welcome Marble Falls at 6 p.m. with the subvarsities playing first at 5 p.m. at Burnet High School.
STATS
Kills – Solis 9, L. Huffman 9, Howton 7, Houston 7, Gay 5, Smith 1; aces – Denton 5, Shipley 5, Courtney 4, Smith 1; assists – Courtney 23, Smith 9, Denton 2, Gay 1, Robison 1; digs – Denton 16, Courtney 7, Smith 6, Solis 3, Shipley 3, Houston 2, Brobst 2, Gay 1, Howton 1.
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