Lady Bulldogs roll to 6-0, sweep Van tourney

Posted 8/17/16

Taking no prisoners, the Quitman Lady Bulldogs convincingly won the Van tournament championship defeating district rival Edgewood 25-21, 25-17. In the process, Quitman did not lose a set during the …

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Lady Bulldogs roll to 6-0, sweep Van tourney

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Taking no prisoners, the Quitman Lady Bulldogs convincingly won the Van tournament championship defeating district rival Edgewood 25-21, 25-17. In the process, Quitman did not lose a set during the entire tournament.

In the tournament final, Kaci Raley had eight kills, five digs and a block with Cammie Hicks setting up 25 assists. The junior teammates were named to the all-tournament team. Fellow junior Molly Tanner added another consistent outing with seven kills and nine digs. Sophomore Madalyn Spears hustled her way to nine kills, five digs and one ace.

The Lady Bulldogs started tournament pool play with a 25-17, 25-15 win over Class 4A Spring Hill, who was the defending champion of the tournament. Junior Molly Tanner had six kils, six digs, and three big blocks while teammate fellow junior Cammie Hicks picked up where she left off last season with 12 assists and three digs.

For Head Coach Ashlee Lingo, the tournament championship was a milestone in her coaching career. “This is the first tournament win for me as a coach, so it will be a weekend I’ll never forget,” Lingo admitted. “The ladies played great this weekend even after having to wait seven hours before the championship game. They are playing more confident and smarter that they ever have.”

Lingo had reservations about playing district foe Edgewood this early in the season. “We had to play Edgewood, who is in our district, and I wasn’t too happy to play them this early in the season. But I’m glad we came out on top,” Lingo added. “We had lots of support from parents, students, and other community members. Our crowd is great and we are thankful to have them!”

According to Lingo, the entire team deserves credit for the tournament championship. “Every lady on this team contributes in each game. Everyone knows their role is important to our overall success,” Lingo said.

The Lady Bulldogs faced off against nearby neighbor Big Sandy in the final pool play game winning going away 25-15, 25-15. For the match, Hicks recorded 20 assists and one ace; Raley five kills, three digs, one ace; Tanner five kills, seven digs, one block; and Spears five kills, six digs, one ace.

With the first two wins in pool play, the Lady Bulldogs moved into the Gold Bracket and the championship rounds. They opened at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to take on an athletic Class 4A Brownsboro Bearette team.

The Lady Bulldogs wasted no time in disposing of Brownsboro by scores of 25-12 and 25-9. The Lady Bulldog defense crushed every offensive effort by Brownsboro, with the front line dominating the net and the back line hustling and making diving plays all over the court. In this game, Raley registered five kills, five digs, and a block while Tanner had six kills, two digs, and an ace, with Hicks getting 18 assists and serving six aces.

The Lady Bulldogs met powerful Sunnyvale in the semi-finals and came away with a hard fought 25-18, 25-22 victory. Hicks had 19 assists, with Raley big at the net on eight kills, four blocks, and two digs. Tanner added five more kills, five digs and three hard aces

The Lady Bulldogs are now 6-0 on the year and host Trinidad Tuesday night before traveling to Longview for a challenging match with Class 5A powerhouse Pine Tree. Not only are the Lady Bulldogs undefeated, they have yet to lose a set this season.