What’s going on with Llano High School volleyball these days? Glad you asked. One girl had more than 40 assists in two contests. The Ladies were on the floor for seven games between Thursday and Saturday, Aug. 28 to 30. And, Stop the Presses! They played two matches back-to-back, and they lasted a total of five hours.

And none of the aforementioned is the lead. “Our play against Hyde Park of Austin was the best I’ve ever seen in my three years here,” head coach Shawn Sweeten declared--and this was a loss! “We bounced back from mistakes, and that was the first time I had ever seen that. I got goose bumps seeing us making blocks, digs and counter attacking.” Kirstie Roark had 16 digs. “She was all over the place,” the coach said. It’s going to be difficult for this story to get any better.

And it didn’t in the second game on Aug. 28 in the Hill Country tournament in Kerrville. Former district opponent, Bandera, prevailed, 25-22 and 25-19.

The Jackets returned home Friday to take on Del Rio at 5:30 p.m., and the home team got the nod, three games to one. “I was pleased we came back so well from the loss to Bandera,” Sweeten pointed out, “and gosh, they had two girls who could jump out of the gym. The goal against taller teams is to touch their shots to slow them down.” Allie Rostron had an impressive 22 kills: Tejana Lanford posted 10 digs, while Katie Yeager had a remarkable 42 assists.

“It was a mental struggle, all these games,” junior Libby Moore said, “but we had to keep going--so we pushed ourselves to meet the challenge.” Moore had 13 kills in the win over the Class-5A Rams, and the mental struggle was really just beginning.

Once the handshake line with Del Rio was over, Eagle Pass took its place in the Llano gymnasium. The Jacket girls should have been told to get this one over quickly, but that didn’t happen. The Eagles won three games to two. “After five hours of volleyball, our kids were dead,” Sweeten stated. A reporter with a smart mouth said, “Great scheduling.” The coach replied, “Thank you,” while possibly wondering, “How many college All-American teams did YOU make?”

“We tried our hardest to get through it,” Roark said of the marathon. In that second game against EP, Yeager had 45 assists; Rostron had 21 kills and 17 digs, and Moore totaled 14 and 12. Lanford came up with 15 digs. The girls needed a designated driver to get home.

To make sure their muscles wouldn’t stiffen up, the Jackets were back on the bus the next morning, Aug. 30. They journeyed to Fredericksburg to take on Poteet. “It was a solid win, 25-20 and 25-19, despite not playing well,” Sweeten mentioned. Not playing well? It’s amazing they didn’t think they had become the Llano Globetrotters.

Lanford collected 11 kills; Yeager was responsible for two dozen assists, and Roark and Kelley Bradley each produced five digs.

Cleburne was next, and this other group of Yellow Jackets won, 25-14 and 25-19. “They were huge,” Sweeten disclosed, “and they ran a really fast offense.”

Blanco was the final opponent of the seven-game scenario, and the Black and Orange downed the Panthers, 25-14, 25-17. Bradley had eight digs in this game for third place in the tournament, and Yeager managed 29 assists. Sunday was a day of rest, but there was practice on Monday. Hey, it was Labor Day.

Llano takes a 10-9 record into district play which began Tuesday, Sept. 2, after press time. For all of the hard work in the previous days, the Jackets got some reward in the district opener: six-time state champion, Wimberley.