As Straughn prepared Wednesday for today’s Class 3A sub-state tournament in Montgomery, the Lady Tigers focused on one important aspect of the game.

The Lady Tigers will be facing tough No. 4 Trinity Presbyterian (38-11), which is known for having a balanced team on offense and defense.

“Sometimes our serve-receive isn’t working and we’re down like 6-1 and then we have to come back from that,” Straughn coach Lori Kinsaul said. “We’ve been putting a little bit of everything in there and we’re just trying to get there and get ready. It’s do or die time.”

Kinsaul is right, because the winner of the sub-state match will advance to the Elite Eight in Pelham on Oct. 28-29.

Last week, the Lady Tigers (20-6) finished third at the regional tournament in Daphne, defeating Dale County, 3-0.

Last season, the Lady Tigers advanced to sub-state, but were knocked out by Montgomery Academy, losing 3-0.

“I’m going to approach this year the same way we did last year,” Kinsaul said. “We played Montgomery Academy last year and they’re really tough. This team is going to be tough as well.

“Montgomery Academy is the only big team that has beaten Trinity,” she said. “So, it’s going to be fast and they’re going to be able to place their serves. We’re going to have to be able to react to that.”

Kinsaul said she is looking for her team to just “play hard.”

“If they give me everything they’ve got, then we can’t leave the floor upset about that,” she said.

Kinsaul said she hopes her team will use the valuable experience from last year and apply it this year.

“I hope that this year we will be a little more prepared,” Kinsaul said. “They didn’t make it to sub-state the year before last and they didn’t know what to expect last year. I hope that the experience that they gained will help us (today).”

The match today begins at 4 p.m.