This one really, really hurt.

The moment Seguin (32-13) scored its championship point in a 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 Region IV title win Saturday over Lake Travis (46-4), it was as if the Lady Cavaliers were waking up from a bad dream only to realize it was true. Their incredible season ended two games short of the ultimate goal.

Lake Travis has much to be proud of – a pre-district tournament win, the best record in school history, an undefeated district title and one of the deepest playoff runs in school history – but they felt like they were supposed to be in San Marcos this week. They felt that way since the moment two-a-days started. Before Saturday, they hadn’t lost an official game since the first week of September and hadn’t lost a match since August. They had every reason to believe in themselves and to be confident that they would make it to the state tournament, and for all these reasons, it was an impossible loss to accept.

In many respects, the team was inconsolable.

The pain grew more palpable with every minute that passed and the Lake Travis players exited the gym as quickly as they could.

It was hard to blame them.

Lake Travis head coach Julie Green couldn’t talk after addressing her team in the locker room. It was clearly just too much.

It was hard to blame her.

But still, she had to talk to the players in that locker room.

“I think sugar coating the game doesn’t really work. The girls are smart and they know they didn’t play up to their potential,” Green said. “I just – you have to make it OK. If everything comes down to the state game, then everything is a waste. They’ve accomplished so much. I wanted more for them than that. I wanted the state tournament for them. I’m not disappointed in them. Their desire and commitment were there all season, we just had a bad day.”

In the end, there were many little reasons for that bad day, but nothing that stood out to Green as the team went through its preparation and warm-ups.
But once the game started, it was clear that for whatever reason, the energy of the Seguin team and crowd wasn’t necessarily overwhelming Lake Travis, but it was keeping the Lady Cavaliers from getting the early boost they needed.

“Once we got into the game, we just weren’t as up as we are in big games,” Green said. “We got out there, and Seguin was so fired up, we were somewhat tight and we got blocked a few times. The girls seemed surprised, and I don’t think we didn’t expect them to be good. They’ve got some talented girls and a great coach. It just felt like from the beginning that we were trying to catch up, and we couldn’t get comfortable. We couldn’t find that place where we get in a groove and start rolling.”

Green implored her team to stay up and not get down as each game transpired, but for whatever reason, it just wasn’t clicking.

“We beat them easily in one of the first matches of the season. There was maybe a comfort level psychologically, but I think what happened Saturday was different than that,” Green said.

What made it different was the position each team was in coming into the tournament. Lake Travis has hardly been challenged this season, while Seguin has played with its life on the line with each passing match. It’s the same position the Lady Cavaliers were in last season.

“We’ve played well from the beginning, and there wasn’t a build up to that. We just keep winning,” Green said. “Their position – that’s always a scary team, the one that’s playing well and is really hot coming into your match.”

Struggles aside, a win in game three seemed to stabilize Lake Travis, and it felt like game four was anyone’s match. The energy evened out in the gym, and for once, the momentum was on Lake Travis’ side.

“I felt a lot better at that point,” Green said. “We haven’t been in that position – to be down 2-0, so I felt like if we got our leg in the door, we could come back.”

Lake Travis led by as much as six in the fourth game, but Seguin slowly climbed back into the game, eventually taking the lead for good after breaking an 18-18 tie.

“I think it was an all-around off. Everything was normal. They’re teenagers and there’s always a chance that on a given day, a good team can sneak up on you if you have a bad day,” Green said. “We didn’t block at all in the first game, we didn’t serve very aggressively and we weren’t aggressive defensively. In the third and fourth games, we started doing those things, but I’d say at every position we were less than great, less than we are capable of. We didn’t play poorly, but we didn’t play up to our standards. Give it to Seguin, they did.”

Now, Lake Travis has to reflect on what the season really was – one of the best ever by any Cavalier athletic team.

Seniors Morgan Hendrix, Lani Durio, Sammie Zonona and Victoria Orscheln have left an incredible legacy, one made stronger by co-captains Hendrix and Durio, who played such integral roles in both the 2008 and 2009 playoff runs.

“I’ve had time to build a really strong relationship with these seniors, where I’ve learned a lot about them off the court in the offseason, not just on the court during the season like last year. They mean a little more to me just because of how much time we’ve spent together,” Green said. “A lot of our success has to do with their experience and positive leadership.”

For all the sadness that comes with the loss, there is still just as much hope. Just four seniors leave from a squad comprised mostly of sophomores and juniors, and they’ll likely be district favorites again next season and should open the year with a top 10 ranking. That’s never solace for the players leaving, but it does give fans hope that this is far from the last chance Lake Travis will have to make a run at a state title.

“I think really as a coach, that’s the only way you can get over such a frustrating loss,” Green said. “You have to look forward to the future and how successful the program was from top to bottom. The winning isn’t nearly as much fun if you haven’t lost.”

And there’s some solace, albeit bittersweet, for the seniors in that future.

They helped build the foundation for what’s become one of the most dominant programs in Central Texas. Lake Travis would not be what it is today without those girls, and that means something.

Two years ago, it was a talented team that seemed to have trouble getting through the early rounds year after year. Now, the expectation is to get to state.

“Amazing how quickly our expectation has changed,” Green said. “And that’s the way I want it. But we’ve come a long way and I don’t want it to do a disservice to our seniors or this team. It’s not a waste at all that we didn’t get to the state tournament. We achieved so much this year.”