College Station's volleyball team dropped the first set Friday night, then took the next three and punched a regional final ticket.
The Lady Cougars beat Austin Anderson 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 in a Class 5A Division I regional semifinal, The Eagle reported. MaxPreps listed College Station at 28-18 after the win and Anderson at 31-7. Georgetown is next in the regional final after the Eagles outlasted A&M Consolidated 3-2 in the other semifinal, KBTX reported.
Anderson arrived ranked 14th, The Eagle noted. College Station still found a way to flip a match that started 0-1. The second, third and fourth sets all went the Cougars' way, including a 25-23 third set that kept the night from sliding back toward a deciding fifth.
A response after set one
Playoff matches that start with a lost set ask a simple question: does the trailing side tighten or unravel? College Station tightened. The Eagle's account described a lineup that answered with kills in bunches once the second set began, and MaxPreps' box score shows the Cougars never trailed in sets again after that first frame.
Anderson's 31-7 record made the opening 25-23 set feel dangerous rather than temporary. A one-set hole against a 30-win visitor can become a two-set hole in a hurry if sideout volleyball stalls. College Station's 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 closeout sequence is the cleanest available answer to that threat.
The third set, decided 25-23, was the hinge. Win it, and the fourth set becomes a chance to finish. Lose it, and Anderson suddenly owns the match script again. College Station won the hinge, then closed 25-18.
Georgetown, and the local bracket picture
The regional final opponent is Georgetown. KBTX reported that the Eagles beat A&M Consolidated 20-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-17, 15-5 on Thursday in Giddings - a reverse sweep that ended Consol's season at 36-9 after a third straight deep playoff run. Georgetown entered that match and left it as a 43-5 team in MaxPreps' next-match notes for College Station.
