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Cuero sophomore Kelsey Washington may have had an omen Saturday before the championship game of the St. Joseph Lady Flyers volleyball tournament and not realized it.

Washington, who usually just plays front row for the Lady Gobblers, found out she would have to serve with the absence of one of her teammates.

“Before the game she came to me and said she missed all of her serves during warm ups,” Cuero coach Rebecca Riojas said.

It turned out that Washington saved them in a crucial Game 3 to help lead the Lady Gobblers to a 25-19, 16-25, 25-4, 25-18 win over the Ganado Maidens.

Washington’s jump serve appeared too much for the Maidens to handle as she fired in four aces in a 7-0 run that blew open Game 3 and gave all the momentum to the Lady Gobblers.

Teammate Megan Lange, the tournament’s MVP, would follow with her own 8-0 run to finish off the game and put the Lady Gobblers up 2-1 in the match.

“She’s a senior, our captain and a great leader that works hard,” Riojas said of Lange. “She definitely deserved the MVP honor.”

With the Maidens fighting to regain some momentum in Game 4, it was Washington again and leading the Lady Gobblers on a 9-0 run that included four more aces and a 12-4 advantage.

With both teams throwing together runs in the opening game, it was Washington and Lange putting Cuero over the top as Lange had three kills and Washington one for the Lady Gobblers’ final four points.

Ganado came firing back as Ashley Staff fired in four aces and got a kill from Breezy Novak in a 6-0 run that put the Maidens up 8-5 early in Game 2.

Megan Diaz added a pair of aces and Lindsey Carroll a kill to give the Maidens a 14-11 lead before Allison Peters finished it off to tie the match. Peters fired in two kills and had a block for the Maidens final three points of the game.

Cuero came back and quickly took charge in Game 3 with a 5-0 lead that included a 4-0 run with Katie Shellenbarger serving. Lange and Emily Reese aided the run with a pair of kills and Kenci Hilbrich added a block.

“I think it kind of embarrassed them when they lost Game 2,” Riojas said. “I was really proud of them to come back out and hold them to just four points.”

Shiner easily strolled past Karnes City to claim third place with a 25-11, 25-12 win, while St. Joseph defeated Hallettsville Sacred Heart 25-13, 25-16 for consolation. Shiner was the defending champion after having beaten St. Joseph in last year’s final.

Shelby Bernshausen finished off both games with kills for the Lady Comanches, who trailed only twice early in Game 2.

Summer Brooks knocked down nine kills and had two blocks, while Kaycee Hillmer had six blocks and two kills to lead St. Joseph in its win.

In the opening game, Brooks fired in an ace and got a block by Hillmer to cap the win.

After Kimi Carrier served up a 4-0 run with two aces to put the Lady Flyers up 20-15 in Game 2, Kaley Jurica would finish off the match with another 4-0 service run that include a closing ace.