The Tioga Lady Bulldogs volleyball team finished its 2025 season as regional finalist after beating Rio Vista 3-1 in the regional semifinals Nov. 6, followed by a 3-1 loss to the Whitewright Lady Tigers in the regional finals on Tuesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs earned their spot in the regional finals with a 3-1 win over the Rio Vista Eagles, where they controlled the tempo of the match by attacking the weak points in the Eagles’ defense.
“We served the ball really well,” Tioga head volleyball coach Trevin Robinson said. “We didn’t pass as well as we typically do, but we were able to make up for that with our serving. I want to say we had six or [fewer] errors in four sets, and we serve extremely aggressively, so that was a big deal for us.”
The two teams traded points in the first set, with Tioga taking the edge late in the set and taking the win 2519.
The second set was more closely contested, with the two teams trading the lead multiple times until Tioga was finally able to take the two-point win, 26-24.
The Lady Bulldogs continued to hammer their opponents, but the Eagles recovered in the third set, clawing their way from behind to win 25-23.
Despite Rio Vista’s comeback attempts, Tioga proved to be too much, taking the fourth and final set 25-20.
Tioga sophomore right side Shaye Walters credited the win to the preparation the Lady Bulldogs put in during the summer.
“We’ve been putting in the work two to three hours a day after school since August, so we’ve been working hard for this,” she said. “… We study how the other teams hit; we study how they block, pass and serve; we study everything on them, and in the game, we try to use what we’ve learned.”
Freshman outside hitter Brennan Guenther echoed her teammates’ sentiments on the Lady Bulldog’s hard work.
“Like Shaye said, we put in a lot of work during the summer, and it’s really paying off right now,” she said. “I’m really grateful for this opportunity, and I feel like everyone else is too, because at the start of the season, we did not think that we were going to make it this far.”
All of Tioga’s preparation and progress was put to the test Tuesday in a rubber match with the Whitewright Lady Tigers in the regional finals.
Whitewright took the first set 25-19, and Tioga won the second 25-23, tying the match at one set apiece, but momentum swung in Whitewright’s favor with the Lady Tigers taking the third and fourth sets by a combined score of 50-32, taking the regional crown.
“We’ve talked all year long about serving and serve receive, [and] we struggled in serve receive the last two sets and that’s what gave them the advantage,” Robinson said.
Despite the loss, Robinson had nothing but positive things to say about his team.
“I am so proud of these girls,” he said. “Nobody thought they would be where they are today. When the season started, they bought into the culture and schemes I brought with me, but most importantly, they believed in themselves. They went from a 15-win team to breaking the school record with 32 wins and making it to the regional finals.”
Robinson also made sure to thank members of the Tioga administration for their support during his first season with the Lady Bulldogs.
“I would like to thank Mr. [Josh] Ballinger, Mr. [Keith] Kirkland and Coach [Zach] Birdwell,” he said. “They took a chance on me when they hired a first-year head coach, and they’ve supported me all season long. I can’t express how grateful I am to have the support I do from them.”
