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SPORTS


Wednesday, November 6, 1996

Tornadoes sweep away Eagles' season

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By JON FULBRIGHT

Staff Writer


CRANE, Nov. 6 -- Some familiar problems the Pecos Eagles had to endure
during the 1996 season finally did them in Tuesday night in Crane, as
they saw their season ended by the Lamesa Golden Tornadoes.

The Eagles served six balls into the next in the first game against
Lamesa. That broke their early momentum and prevented a late comeback,
as they were beaten by a 15-11 final score.

Then in the second game, the Eagles couldn't break serve and get their
leading hitter, Lori Marquez, back up to the front line when they still
had a chance, as the Tors' Shawn Massey served out six straight points
to turn an 8-3 lead into a 14-3 advantage, on the way to a 14-6 victory
and a berth in the Region I-4A quarterfinals against Dumas, 15-5, 15-1
winners over San Angelo Lake View on Tuesday.

"The serves killed us in the first game, and we never got into it in the
second game," said Eagles' coach Nora Geron.

Her team held an 11-9 lead in the opener, but were done in by Tors'
hitter Kizzie Fleming, who made up in power what she lacked in size.
Fleming put a couple of balls into the net early, but her hard spike off
Gail Taylor and a dink over the Eagle blockers late in Game 1 helped the
Tors go on a 6-0 closing run, after the Eagles took an 11-9 lead.

"I couldn't believe we missed all those serves and were still in the
game," Geron said, as her team rallied from an early 6-2 deficit.

Ivy Thorp led the comeback with a couple of kills and a back line hit
that found the floor, as the Eagles went on a 6-0 run of their own to
grab an 8-6 lead. Massey and Fleming then got the Tors back in front
briefly, 9-8, before two spikes into the net by Fleming and Tanji Meador
put Pecos back ahead one last time.

After Fleming gave Lamesa a 14-11 lead it took the Tors almost a full
rotation before they finally won, when LaCrisha Molinar hit the net on a
spike attempt. "We held them a 14 for a long time, but we couldn't
score. We played good defense, but we couldn't get enough offense,"
Geron said.

Lamesa was able to keep Pecos scoreless while Marquez rotated up to the
front and then to the back line again at the close of Game 1. In Game 2,
a kill by the junior along with a dink helped the Eagles grab 2-1 and
3-2 leads, but Lamesa went ahead for good at 4-3 off a block of Marquez
by Bree Sheppard, then added to it off a Sheppard ace and another
Fleming kill.

"They're still young and they lose their composure and then have to
regain it," Geron said. "We're up and down, but that comes from a lack
of experience."

The Eagles struggled to get the ball in bounds late in Game 2, and were
also hurt by some bad passing. Sheppard spiked one overset for a 14-3
lead, before Sherrie Mosby broke serve with a kill, and Marquez added
two kills of her own to make it 14-5.

Pecos would hold off Lamesa one more time at match point, and cut the
lead to eight off a bad hit by Melissa Mayfield, but another bad relay
that setter Elena Hinojos couldn't reach off Lamesa's next serve ended
the match and the season for Pecos.

"There a well coached team, and they've got some good hitters," Geron
said of the Tors, who improved to 25-7 going into their match Saturday
against Dumas.

The Eagles, meanwhile, closed their season with a 14-17 record, but did
earn their first post-season berth in four years, along with a
bi-district win over El Paso Burges.

"I think we'll be very strong next year. We have all our front line
coming back with varsity experience," Geron said. "Really, Lori was the
only one this year with any previous experience. We just need to work
hard."

Along with Pecos and Lake View, the District 4-4A champion this season,
district runner-up Andrews also saw its season ended by 1-4A champ
Hereford, 15-6, 15-3, in Lubbock. Hereford won a first-place playoff
over Dumas last week for the 1-4A title.

Bureaucrats may determine

retirement plans for Geron

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CRANE, Nov. 6 -- Crane was the site of Pecos Eagle coach Nora Geron's
600th career victory last year.

Whether or not it was the site of her final game as Pecos' volleyball
coach is up to the state bureaucracy.

The Eagles' coach had told some of her former players during the season
this would probably be her last year as coach, and she restated that
last night - with a qualification - following Pecos' elimination from
the Class 4A playoffs by Lamesa.

"I think so, if I can get the out-of-state TRS included," she said,
referring to her five years of coaching in Florida, and whether or can
it be counted by the Texas teacher retirement system.

Geron completed her 17th season as Pecos coach this year with 618
career wins. She coached 15 years in Fabens, and the addition of the
time spent in Florida would give her 37 years teaching credit.

"If I can get it all fixed up, this is it," she said.

While Tuesday's match was the final one of the season for the Eagles'
volleyball team, is won't be the last for Geron this season. She's
scheduled to coach freshman basketball for Pecos again this season, the
first under her niece, ex-Eagle Patty Hall, as head coach.
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State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times


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