A run at a three-peat came up short for the Bushland Lady Falcons, as Goliad was able to avenge a loss from last year to the Lady Falcons a year later by getting a three-set sweep of Bushland, 25-22, 25-18, 25-16, to claim the UIL Class 3A Division I state championship Friday at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
The Tigerettes pounced on the Lady Falcons in the first set. With Bushland leading 22-21 late in that opening set, Goliad flipped the momentum with four straight points highlighted by a Maevyn Wunsch kill to close out the set.
Goliad rolled from there, taking complete control in the second set behind strong serving and Bushland miscues. Then in the third set, the Tigerettes didn’t hesitate to put the Lady Falcons away to claim the state title.
“Goliad is a very good team,” Bushland head coach Jason Culpepper said. “I thought they did a great job of serving and running their middle on offense. We should have done a better job of serving. I thought we fought hard, but we didn’t come out on top.”
Sophomore Berklee Billington had a great match for Bushland in her first significant action on the bright lights of state. Billington led the Lady Falcons with 18 kills on 41 attacks for a hitting percentage of .317. Billington also had 11 digs for a double-double. Jaida Scott and Morgan Eberly combined for 32 assists, senior Ava Permenter ended her stellar career with 18 digs and Laynee Adams pounded down six kills with 11 digs.
“We had a tough rotation in the first set,” Culpepper said. “I thought Goliad did a good job of spot serving and we didn’t get to take that first set and that kept the ball rolling for them. Congratulations to Goliad, they played great.”
The Lady Falcons ended another tremendous year at 41-8 overall. While doing that, Bushland carried on a couple of impressive streaks this season. Bushland, which has won eight state championships since 2006, was making a sixth straight appearance in a state title game. The Lady Falcons will also carry on a 105-game district win streak into 2026.
The Lady Falcons did see a 13-game win streak come to a halt as well as an 18-game postseason win streak.
“The seniors are the reason we get to where we are,” Culpepper said. “They embrace that role. We had great seniors that led us this year and we came a long way from where we started. With the leaders we always have, we have a lot of fight and growth. I’m proud of this season and how we got better.”
Goliad finishes the year an incredible 44-3 and winning 37 straight matches. The Tigerettes claim their third state title in program history and the first since 2017. Goliad’s Addison Yendrey was named state MVP against Bushland after slamming down 20 kills on 39 attacks with seven digs and an ace.
Check out the boxscore
For a full look at the boxscore from the Bushland-Goliad UIL Class 3A Division I state championship match, please visit https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=624236
