NEW BRAUNFELS — Members of the Smithson Valley volleyball team made their way into the school’s gymnasium on the morning of Sept. 24. It was 7:30 a.m. and the sting of discovering how thin is the line between winning and losing was about to be amplified.

The Rangers had lost at home to New Braunfels Canyon in four sets a day earlier in a District 26-5A showdown — their first league loss since 2019 — and service errors were a culprit. The team missed nine serves in a match where the margin of defeat was six points.

The players knew there would be repercussions for the miscues.

“We worked a lot on serving in practice after that game,” Smithson Valley senior Lillie Johnson said with a chuckle. “There was some running. It really motivates us not to miss a serve.”

On Tuesday night, in a much-anticipated rematch on the road, the Rangers didn’t miss on much at all. Shaking off what has become a customary slow start, Smithson Valley rolled past New Braunfels Canyon 25-20, 25-19, 25-27, 25-13 to move into a tie for first place in district with two matches left.

“I think our kids do a really good job maybe over-analyzing a little bit, trying to do too much,” Smithson Valley coach Melissa Miller said after being serenaded with “happy birthday” by her players, coaches and fans. “Once they settle down and realize we just have to do what we do, then they get into that rhythm.”

And the Cougarettes (37-7, 11-1) couldn’t find the answers to slow down Smithson Valley (33-7, 11-1), which used balanced attacking, tough serving and defense to record its seventh straight win. Johnson, who is committed to Charleston Southern, led the charge with 21 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, four aces and 2 1/2 blocks. Emily Wertz had 12 kills and 16 digs, Morgan Spradling had eight kills and Megan Zamora added five. Sophomore setter Hayley Barsky recorded 23 assists.

“The chemistry is the biggest thing right now,” Wertz said. “At the beginning of the season, we were starting off kind of separated with little cliques, but now I couldn’t tell you one clique on this team. Everyone is so close.”

The Rangers’ camaraderie was on display. Each time that New Braunfels Canyon appeared to be poised to make a run to grab control or cut into a deficit, Smithson Valley seemingly had a response. In the opening set, Smithson Valley used a 10-2 run to overcome an 18-15 deficit. In the second frame, the Rangers used a 7-2 spurt to prevail after the Cougarettes closed within 18-17. They rebounded after not being able to convert on a match point and losing the third set, riding a 13-3 flurry to turn a 12-10 advantage into a lopsided win.

Perhaps the most glaring aspect of Smithson Valley’s win came on defense and at the service line. Paced by libero Brittan Fedyk, who had a match-high 38 digs, and Lindsey Zenner (13 digs) and serving that produced seven aces and forced New Braunfels Canyon out of system for long stretches, Smithson Valley limited the Cougarettes’ usually efficient and powerful attack to a .088 hitting clip (40 kills in 170 attempts with 25 hitting errors).

Maya Jones led New Braunfels Canyon with 10 kills, Mia Dunaway added seven kills and 3 1/2 blocks, and Marlee Lightsey contributed six kills. Junior setter Megan Hawkins had 30 assists and tied libero Isabell Woo with a team-best 28 digs. Courtney Pope chipped in 4 1/2 blocks.

“We had a lot of great seniors last year and for this team to be new and just come out that strong is just really great,” Johnson said.

Tuesday’s outcome was a full circle of sorts for Smithson Valley from nearly a month ago, when serving woes played a crucial role in a 28-26, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23 setback. Fittingly, the Rangers closed out the match on an ace by Marlowe Berry.

“We really just talked about this isn’t a team that needs our help,” Miller said of New Braunfels Canyon, a Class 5A state semifinalist a year ago. “We don’t have to give them points. They’re going to earn plenty of points on their own. I think we did a good job — at least in the first, second and fourth set — of not giving away points.”

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