Lee Central's Austin leads Lady Stallions to critical region wins on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

The Lee Central volleyball team ended September with a pair of crucial region games against Lamar and C.A. Johnson.

The Lady Stallions lost their previous four matches, two of which came down to the final set in long battles with Great Falls and McBee. With two wins over Lamar and C.A. Johnson, Lee Central could put themselves firmly in the playoff picture. Losses would leave LCHS on the edge of a crowded Region III-1A.

When Lee Central needed it most, their leaders stepped up. Kiyonna Austin, a senior who returned to the squad after taking last year off, was critical in pushing the Lady Stallions to a pair of hard-fought sweeps. In the process, she earned recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels real good, because it's not easy," Austin said of the recognition after a trying week. "We just had to play through adversity and do all the things we do together as a team."

When the Lady Stallions have their backs against the wall, head coach Jalisa Williams knows she can turn to leaders like Austin to rally the troops.

"She is kinda the spark we were missing last year," Williams said. "She's going to say what no one else will; she's going to hold them accountable."

Amid a four-game losing streak, Austin said her message to the team was simple.

"We had to work together better as a team and set our attitudes aside," she and. "And just lock in more."

The Lady Stallions started the week with a sweep of Lamar. After a competitive first set, LCHS cruised. Austin played a pivotal role with excellent serving, piling up seven aces to go with five kills. They were supposed to have a day off before facing C.A. Johnson, but Hurricane Helene had other plans. The matchup was moved to Wednesday, and Williams could tell her girls were missing the night off as they fought to grind out a win.

"We were tired. We played the previous day, and it seems like we've been playing a lot, so the girls were tired and making mistakes, but in the end, they pulled it together," Williams said. "Kiyonna was able to make some key kills when we needed them and dumped the ball over the blockers."

Austin admitted the Lady Stallions underestimated their opponents a bit after C.A. Johnson failed to score more than 16 points in a set during their first matchup. In last week's rematch, the Hornets pushed LCHS to the edge in the opening set, but the Lady Stallions held on for a 25-22 win. After Lee Central won the second set 25-18, LCHS needed more than 25 points to win the third. C.A. Johnson fought to force a fourth set, but Lee Central managed to hold on for a 28-26 victory, earning a sweep in the process. Austin did a little bit of everything, racking up seven kills, six aces, four blocks and seven assists in the victory.

"We doubted C.A. Johnson just a little bit because we played them before and it was easy, but we doubted them a little too much," Austin said. "They started to outwork us, and we realized we had to lock back in and do what we needed to do to get out of there quick."

The two wins put Lee Central in fourth place in the region, which will send five teams to the postseason as a nine-team region. After a win over winless Riverwalk on Thursday, the Lady Stallions will face Midlands STEM and Great Falls this week before matchups with the top two teams in the region, Lewisville and Governor's School of Math and Science, to close the regular season. These two victories certainly have the Lady Stallions feeling much better as they look to make a postseason run.

"It was important because most of the team, we're seniors, and this is our last year," Austin said. "I hope it clicked in their heads as quick as it clicked through mine."

Austin stepped away last season because she wasn't in the right headspace, but she's glad to be wrapping up her final season with this group of Lady Stallions.

"It's great because this team, we have great chemistry together," she said. "I had to come back bigger and better. I hope to be player of the year."