The dynasty rolled on Friday night with the Bushland Lady Falcons celebrating “Pink Out Night” in a very special way with a commanding sweep of the Dalhart Golden Wolves 25-13, 25-19, 25-16, at the Falcons Gym.
The Lady Falcons complete the season sweep of Dalhart and with that are once again the District 1-3A outright champions for a 13th straight year. Bushland, which also ran its unbelievable league win streak to 103 games Friday, improves to 33-8 overall on the season and a perfect 6-0 in district play.
Head coach Jason Culpepper was very pleased with how his team played Friday and glad that one goal is checked off heading into the postseason.
“We always set goals at the beginning of the year and then during the year,” Culpepper said. “We have preseason goals, then district goals. Winning a district title is a part of that and now it’s on to the playoffs. We just want to keep getting better and carrying the momentum we have.”
Dalhart had given Bushland quite the match the first time around earlier this year even pushing the Lady Falcons to a 27-25 set. However, this time, the Lady Falcons were in control from the jump setting the tone with strong play on the front row, great passing and excellent defense, which never allowed the Lady Wolves to get the momentum they needed to get into the match.
“We did a lot of good things in this game,” Culpepper said. “The offense played very well and our setters did a great job of distributing the ball and making sure everything ran smoothly. I thought Laynee Adams and Berklee Billington did a great job of getting us points and attacking the defense every chance they could get.”
Berklee Billington had a dynamite night on offense and defense for Bushland. The outstanding sophomore attacked the net with a team-high 17 kills and then on the back row made 17 digs for a double-double. Outside hitter Laynee Adams was another mismatch on the front row going on the attack with 14 kills as a part of a huge offensive night for the Lady Falcons.
However, it wasn’t just the hitting that picked up this win. This was a complete team effort from all phases. Morgan Eberly and Jaida Scott made sure the offense ran smoothly combining for 45 assists. Eberly led the team with 24 and Scott added 21 and it wouldn’t be a defensive night without Ava Permenter. The libero played a great game on the back row moving all over the court for 22 digs.
“I think our setters Morgan Eberly and Jaida Scott have really come on of late,” Culpepper said. “They are connecting well and feeding the hitters and everything is working really well right now. Ava Permenter has really stepped up in that libero role and Laynee Adams is playing great on the outside as is Berklee. I just keep seeing this young team grow up and get better each week and we want to carry this into the playoffs and see what kind of run we can make.”
Dalhart (29-7-2) is secure in second place of the district at 5-2. Outside hitter Kammi Maddox did have a strong game with 13 kills and three blocks. The 13 kills put Maddox over 1,100 kills for her amazing career. Addison Ramirez and Kirsten Foust each had 10 digs for Dalhart with Reese Jenkins getting four kills and Remi Johnson pacing the team with six blocks.