SUGAR LAND — After an initial set of emotional play, Katy struggled with blocking up front and setting up its attack in a 3-1 Class 6A regional quarterfinal playoff loss (23-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19) to Cy-Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Wheeler Fieldhouse.

In that first set, Katy (33-15) consistently attacked with precision and power. The Tigers were led by seniors Karah Parkerson and Skylor Weaver, and sophomore Maddie Waak. Parkerson had a strike for the final point and had four kills in the set. It was a tight, back-and-forth first set, with Katy’s biggest lead only as large as five points.

However, as the match wore on, Katy struggled to cover the wide attack area from the Bobcats, who also tightened up their errors. Cy-Fair (36-10) gave away nine points in the first set, but only had 13 errors total in the final three sets.

In contrast, the Bobcats’ attack seemed to wear down Katy. The Tigers had 24 errors in the final three sets and didn’t pass well off of serves, leading to weak attacks from outside hitters.

Cy-Fair’s athletic front line, combined with a nimble back line, dealt well with Katy’s combination of strikes and tips. Senior Lauryn Bourne had 19 kills, with junior Rebekah Portalatin finishing with 15 kills and four aces.

Katy trailed in the second set from the start, falling into a 6-2 hole because of several strikes from Bourne and errors on striking attempts. However, the Tigers fought back to tie the set 17-17, and briefly took the lead 19-18 after kills from Waak and sophomore Jordan Gamble.

The comeback effort drained a lot of Katy’s energy, though, and Cy-Fair recovered down the stretch. The Tigers didn’t have another kill in the set, only scoring points on errors by the Panthers. Bourne and Portalatin had kills in the Bobcats’ 7-3 run to finish the set.

While the Tigers fought to the end of the fourth and deciding set, the Bobcats were in front in comfortable fashion throughout. After Cy-Fair jumped out to a 15-10 lead, the margin never got closer than three points.

For Katy, Parkerson had a bounce back game after struggling in the previous area round against a large Bellaire front line. She finished with 11 kills against the Bobcats. Weaver had a team-high 13 kills and two blocks, using conventional strikes at the net with her usual cross-court tips and taps.

Although the result wasn’t what the Tigers were looking for, the future remains bright for coach Karen Paxton’s team.

Waak, a, LSU commit, had eight kills and three aces, thriving in her usual dual role as an outside hitter and primary setter, depending on personnel. The 6-foot-2 Gamble had more and more of the offense run through her as the season went on, and finished with eight kills against Cy-Fair.

Juniors Perris Key, Abby Sherman and Hannah Hoover all return next year, and were significant difference-makers to a team that finished as a regional quarterfinalist for the second straight season.