In just their second ever trip to the volleyball regionals, the W.S. Neal Lady Eagles lost to Andalusia Saturday in Andalusia to see their season end.
The Lady Eagles lost 3-0 to the Lady Bulldogs losing set one 25-13, set two 25-22 and set three 25-14. No individual stats were known.
With the loss, the Lady Eagles ended their season with a 9-15 record under first-year head coach Jeff Haney.
“It was a real accomplishment for this team to make it to regionals,” Haney said. “The season was filled with highs and lows, but we ended on a positive note. I think our team played pretty well in this match, but we were just not able to overcome a list of obstacles. The first and most obvious challenge was our opponent. Andalusia was very athletic and played us tough the entire match. We also had to deal with the environment. Only two of these players were in high school the last time Neal went to the regionals, so to say that we were nervous playing teams at this level may be an understatement.”
Haney said the team also had to deal with officials making some calls that they had not seen all year.
“They were very fair, but we were not prepared for them,” Haney said. “Our team played well and never gave up. We got down 11-1 in set two and kept playing hard. That set ended up being the closest of the three. I want to thank all of the players for their hard work this season and I look forward to the future. I also want to thank coach Mike Stone for all his help and guidance this season.”