The Tioga Lady Bulldogs volleyball team earned their second district win and 23rd win of the season, sweeping the Sam Rayburn Lady Rebels 3-0 on Sept. 26.
The Lady Bulldogs overwhelmed their district opponent, outscoring them 75-44 over three sets.
“We did what we were hoping to do coming in, and that's win every set we play,” Tioga head volleyball coach Trevin Robinson said. “At the end of the day, we were able to come in and get a sweep, 3-0, and right now we’re right where we need to be. We're 2-0 in district so far, and we've won five straight, and we're just hoping to keep that rolling.”
Sam Rayburn kept things close in the first set, but the Lady Bulldogs were able to find their footing and take the win, 2517.
Tioga overcame its slow start in the first set to take the second set by a much larger margin, 25-12, and stayed in control to win the third set 25-15.
“Today was a big game for us not only because [Sam Rayburn] was a good team and not only because it was a district game, but I think the more we win, the more confidence we have in ourselves, which is something we struggled with last year,” said Ella Norwood, Tioga setter and right side. “The more we win, the more we know we can do this, and the more we believe that we're great. Tonight was just a matter of getting it done and showing everyone that we can be consistent, and I just thinks it shows how much we've grown.”
Lady Bulldogs setter Sadie Bates set the pace with 24 assists and 5 serving aces, while middle blocker Kennedy Slay led in scoring with 14 kills, followed by 7 kills from outside hitter Brennan Guenther.
On the defensive side, libero Bella Dennis led the team with 18 digs, followed by defensive specialist Maddy Schon, who finished with 12 digs.
“We were flying around the court and just always there, ready for the ball, and trying our best to never let it hit the ground,” Dennis said.
Robinson said the Lady Bulldogs chose to play tougher opponents during the non-district portion of their schedule to help them prepare for district and the strategy seems to be paying off, with Tioga picking up its third district win over Tom Bean on Tuesday evening.
“Those games set us up perfectly,” he said. “We played a really good Trenton team on Tuesday, and now we played a good Sam Rayburn team, and we were able to take care of business, and we're just looking at one game at a time. It's going to be a competitive district, and the goal is to compete for district championships. In order to do that, we have to win every game we possibly can, and so far we've done that, and we’re just going to see where that takes us.”
