“We were flat. I knew it right from the first serve,” said Lady Trojan head coach Larry Lollar.

The Beeville girls played three close games with home-standing Gregory-Portland on Friday night and lost all three by the scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 26-24.

The loss gives the Lady Trojans a 19-12 overall mark and they remain in second place in district at 4-2 at the end of the first round of district play. Gregory-Portland upped its district record to 3-3.

The Lady Trojans had an opportunity to share first place with Moody but the local ladies could not find the hard hit or the strong serve at the right time to move in front of the Lady Wildcats and keep themselves on top. The first game had the Lady Trojans down 14-6 before forging a comeback. The Beeville ladies looked to be picking up the pace and pulled within three at 16-13. The Lady Wildcats pushed it back to a 19-14 game and then at 20-16 the Lady Trojans went on another little spurt. Three straight points got them back in the game at 20-19 and they eventually tied it at 22-22. A Beeville service error got the home team back in front at 23-22 and then they put the game away with the last two points for a 1-0 lead in the best of five.

The Lady Trojans played a little better in game two and held a slim lead, 22-19, late in the second tilt. The G-P girls scored the next five points with the help of two Beeville hitting errors and took a 24-22 lead. The Lady Trojans got a break as a Wildcat serve went into the net to make it a 24-23 contest but the Lady Trojans failed to convert the tying point and the Lady Wildcats held on for a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 lead.

The third game was even closer down the stretch as the Beeville girls pressed the Lady Wildcats into extra points. But, it was the G-P ladies coming up big with the final two points at 26-24 for the third win in a row to capture the match in three.

Cassandra Vela had the lone ace for the Lady Trojans and had only eight assists over the three games as the Lady Trojans just weren’t hitting in the match. Audrey Jones contributed on defense with 20 digs. Erin Tabb had 12 kills, with Hennig following with eight over the three games. Tabb also put down three G-P hits for points on blocks along the net.

The junior varsity match also went to the Lady Wildcats in straight games, 25-12 and 25-15, in their best of three match. The JHS freshman girls lost in two, 25-10 and 25-20.

The Lady Trojans traveled to Rockport-Fulton on Tuesday evening to play the Lady Pirates but will have an open date this Friday night to get ready for the final five games of district play. The Beeville ladies will have three of the final five games at home with the Moody Trojans coming to Beeville on Oct. 14.