Seven Lakes junior outside hitter Ally Batenhorst literally had no words following the rally she led her team through, from down five points to a thrilling, match-clinching fourth-set win against Katy in a big District 19-6A matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Seven Lakes High School.

However, it wasn’t because the moment was too big or too much for the Nebraska verbal commit. It was because she had been dealing with severe allergies the previous three days and literally couldn’t speak. Batenhorst fought through the sickness and another defense geared toward stopping her, finishing with 35 kills and two aces in the 3-1 win that earned the Spartans their second consecutive 19-6A win to push their record to 2-2.

Katy suffered its first loss in district and fell to 2-1.

Seven Lakes took the first set 26-24, dropped the second 25-22 and won the third 25-22, with all three featuring back-and-forth play and long rallies. The fourth set, a 27-25 Seven Lakes win, seemed to be slipping from the Spartans as they trailed 20-15 following a kill by Katy sophomore Jordan Gamble.

Batenhorst wouldn’t be denied, though. After trading points to 21-17, Batenhorst had three straight points with powerful overhand strikes to force a Tigers’ timeout. This did nothing to slow down Batenhorst, as she had another kill following the timeout and Seven Lakes took the lead, 22-21, following a return error by Katy.

The Spartans had their first match point at 24-23, but Katy managed to stave off the loss with an attack for a point by senior Skylor Weaver. A block of one of Batenhorst’s attacks by Gamble for another point then put Seven Lakes in a 25-24 hole and in danger of losing the fourth set.

Gamble (25 kills) and sophomore Maddie Waak (13 kills) consistently found the holes in the Spartans’ defense throughout the match.

At that point, Seven Lakes coach Amy Cataline called a timeout. When asked what she stressed to her team at that stage of the game, she said it was both staying aggressive but composed.

“Just to stay consistent and to get a hand on everything,” she said. “I think we can handle everything if we get a hand on the ball, but looking and not going, that tends to creep up on us when we’re in tight matches and worried that we’re taking someone else’s ball.”

Seven Lakes—and Batenhorst specifically, with a sharp strike off a pass, an ace and a back row strike—took care of business for the next three points to win the fourth set and the match.

“We were just trying to get that bad play [of the fourth] out of our heads and focus on what we do well,” Batenhorst said.

Given her lack of voice, it may not have been surprising that Batenhorst’s younger sister, sophomore setter Casey Batenhorst, also excelled against Katy. She finished with six kills on a variety of taps and sets over the net, typically on second hits.

“She makes smart decisions, trying to be aggressive with the second ball,” Cataline said. “She does well for us and manages about three kills a match on those decisions.”

Ally Batenhorst noted that their ability to communicate without speaking was vital.

“We’ve been playing together on varsity now this year and last year,” she said. “I think we always communicate really well. I didn’t even need to speak to her and she knew what I wanted, which was big.”

It was a much needed win for the Spartans, who lost at home in four sets to Cinco Ranch on Sept. 17. On that night, it seemed like the favorable crowd noise hindered rather than helped the Spartans. Both Cataline and Ally Batenhorst mentioned mental toughness and composure as areas to sharpen as district play continues.

“I just think we need to work on being mentally tough and being able to execute out of timeouts and being able to string points together,” Cataline said. “I feel like there were too many unforced errors on our side that we need to get better about.”