The Galveston County Daily News

ALVIN — Even with a two games to none lead over Waltrip in the area round of the Class 4A playoffs, Santa Fe coach Anna Marie Milligan was unimpressed. She thought her team came out slow and lackadaisical.

So during the three-minute break between Games 2 and 3, Milligan made the Lady Indians run. The surprising and odd-timed exercise worked.

Santa Fe opened Game 3 with a 6-0 spurt to easily eliminate the Lady Rams in straight games, 25-11, 25-15 and 25-13.

The Lady Indians (37-5) return to the regional quarterfinals after a one-year hiatus and will face Foster, most likely on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

The two faced off in the same round in 2006, which Foster won in a heartbreaking five games.

“They needed a wake-up call — something to get the juices flowing,” Milligan said. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it.”

Senior Regina Trapp clearly got the message. After an uneventful first two games, Trapp got five kills and three blocks — the last of which capped off a 15-4 run to start the game.

The McNeese State commit finished with 15 kills and five blocks.

Hayley Couch’s serve propelled the Lady Indians throughout the match. Couch served 11 straight points to close out Game 1, including two aces.

The jump-serve with top spin also paid dividends in Game 2. The game featured six ties until Couch started a 5-0 run with her serve.

Katie Marabella added eight kills, while Kelli Hadley and Lindsey Martindale had three aces each.

The Lady Indians played much better in Game 3. They committed 11 attack errors, five service errors and four penalties in the first two games. Santa Fe had no service errors and one penalty in Game 3, and four attack errors.