Tigers Serve Notice in 3A-1 Rivalry Win

Posted Date: 09/16/2025

The atmosphere was different. The intensity level - different. When it’s Mansfield versus Lavaca in high stakes volleyball, the rivalry heats up and the fans love it.

Opposing student cheering sections each took up conspicuous spots inside Tiger Gymnasium as the Lavaca Golden Arrows rolled into town to face their volleyball nemesis, Mansfield Lady Tigers. In a chippy battle between 3A-1 contenders on September 2, it was Mansfield that avoided an Arrow onslaught and came away with a 3-0 home victory to stay undefeated on the season.

“The intensity against Lavaca is always higher than any other game,” offered MHS outside hitter Miley Clopton. “We know they want to beat us just as much as we want to beat them! They are always a scrappy team that never gives up.”

In the second set, Lavaca laid down a volley of arrows that showed just how scrappy they were. Racing out to a 17-8 lead, they were serious with their intentions after feeling the effects of Mansfield fighting off a furious Lavaca rally in the first set. In that opener, Mansfield survived a 21-21 tie before posting the final four points for a 25-21 decision. 

This second set felt different. Lavaca pulled back their bows and let loose a full out barrage. Backed by a spirited student fan base dressed in “white out” attire, the Arrows flew freely for the huge lead. Mansfield, however, absorbed the blows and kept fighting for territorial rights. 

“During set two, the score being 17-8 was actually a boost for us,” confessed Clopton of the team’s second set comeback. “We needed to show everyone what we could do in a not-so-good situation, and how as a team we come together and build each other up and can come back stronger. That’s exactly what we did!”

Backing up a bit in that critical second set, Mansfield’s head coach Kaylie Pyles called time out when Lavaca doubled up the score at 12-6. Lavaca kept up the pressure despite the pause in the action. Only a Mansfield middle kill by Danielle Lowery kept the visitors from stringing together a 9 point run.

Then at 17-8, a questionable call by the line judge gifted the Lady Tigers service. MHS sophomore Abby Smith took advantage with 5 straight serves to pull the Tigers to within 4 points.

The two teams traded serves for the next 8 rotations before Mansfield’s Bailey Quick, Adeline Godwin, and Abby Smith put up a shield with timely serve sequences. Within those mini Mansfield rallies, Lavaca began to melt. The Tiger student section, mostly members of the Mansfield football team dressed in bright neon colors, were visibly and verbally active to apply the heat for an Arrow tailspin.

Lavaca served past the end line. They spiked potential kill shots long and wide. They even had a rotation violation to give Mansfield free momentum. 

Meanwhile, Tiger senior Kaylee Ward hammered home a kill off a fantastic dig by Godwin. That knotted the score at 22-22. Then, Lavaca launched another shot that went beyond the baseline., Meticulously, Mansfield climbed to a 23-22 lead. It was their first such advantage in the second frame since a 1-0 start to begin the momentum changing set. 

The Arrows pushed a two-handed setter into a hole of the Tiger defense to stop the bleeding. It tied the score at 23-23. Lavaca’s sneaky winner was short-lived, however, as they violated the net on the next rally giving Mansfield another point off an unforced error.

Mansfield, with only its third lead of the set, was back on top at 24-23. The Tigers’ Smith then sent a spectacular serve to close the deal. Lavaca mishandled the game point offering, unable to make a proper play on the ball. The Arrows pushed the final point out of bounds allowing Mansfield to sneak away with the second set at 25-23.

Ward, Mansfield’s All-State middle, was effective with hard hits on more than one occasion. However, the clever veteran also found killing them softly with a left handed dink over the top was just as effective. On several chances at the net, the MHS senior found a tiny loft lifted just beyond the tandem block of a pair of 5’ 9” defenders was just as rewarding as the big swing.

Clopton was effective as well. She was not shy to swing away with multiple opportunities at the net. In one particular sequence, the Mansfield sophomore smashed three consecutive attempts putting the Arrow defense on notice that Mansfield had multiple weapons. Clopton, Ward, Lowery and Godwin all had recorded kills for the Tigers.

“My teammates always have my back,” confessed Clopton about the source of her confidence at the net. “When I make a mistake on the attack, I know they are going to tell me, ‘Miles you got this’ and they give me the ball again. I know they have confidence in me and that makes me want to play my best for them!” 

The final set, which Mansfield won 26-16, started off just as close as that hotly contested middle stand. The conference rivals pounded away at one another until Godwin put down a hit for a 9-9 tie. Off Clopton’s serve, the Arrows attempted an outside hit but were stuffed by a duo block from Lowery and Godwin. Mansfield’s momentum was again on the upswing.

Clopton’s service rotation went 6 points deep. After two Lavaca points, Godwin hit another winner from the opposite side. Mansfield’s Quick put up an ace to start a 6 point run of her own. Within that series, Ward got a pair of kills, Smith and Ward rejected another Arrow hit, and Quick salted away another ace.

Perhaps Mansfield’s most satisfying point came at 21-13. The Tigers and Arrows saw the ball cross the net 17 times before the point was decided. Two consecutive digs by junior Whitley Boyd and a winning smash by Ward ended the marathon point in Mansfield’s favor.

The ferocity of play between the rival schools was not germane only to the high school squads. The junior varsity saw an equally intense battle with Mansfield taking the first set 27-25 followed by a second set punctuation mark at 25-15.

Mansfield’s junior high coach April Howell explained the conference win like this. “Bentley Hoover served really well,” Howell offered in a post game message following the 2-0 victory. “Kinlee Winters led with 13 kills. Overall, the team stayed calm under pressure and kept hitting for the wins.”