District 4-4A
West Plains downs Randall to pull into 4-4A first-place tie
They may only be a second-year program, but the West Plains Lady Wolves have made serious noise since the very beginning and on Saturday made a boisterous statement with their biggest win to date.
Hosting arch-rival Randall in front of a packed house at the Wolves Den, West Plains rallied back from a 15-25 first-set loss to take the next three sets 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, to down the No 1-ranked Lady Raiders.
The win shook a lot of things up on both sides. West Plains (34-7 overall) pulls into a first-place tie with Randall (34-4) at 10-1 in District 4-4A with three regular season games remaining. The Lady Wolves beat their nemesis for the first time in their short history while snapping the Lady Raiders 24-match district win streak dating back to last season.
“The emotions are super high,” said Kaitlyn Cornelius, who is 66-14 in two seasons as the West Plains head volleyball coach. “This was a big win for us. This is another piece to the big picture. We still have goals other than this game. It’s a great win for us and it’s a confidence builder. We have been working so hard as a team and it’s paying off.”
Randall looked to be on its way to staying unbeaten taking the first set in controlling fashion 25-15. That didn’t disrupt the Lady Wolves one bit who battled back for a hard-fought 27-25 victory, then took full momentum with a 25-20 third set win. In the fourth set, the Lady Raiders held an early 6-4 advantage until West Plains once again turned it up another level with the offense and capitalized on Randall miscues to go on an 11-2 run that put the Lady Wolves up 15-8. A lead the Lady Wolves would never relinquish.
“We knew going into this game it was going to be a battle,” Cornelius said. “I told him to just keep their heads. We have to worry about us and control what we can. We went to work and we did a great job of that. That showed a lot of mental toughness that we’ve had a lot of conversations about.”
Emerson Castillo and Zenaida Murillo led a tremendous offensive effort with great passing combining for 39 assists. Castillo tallied a team-high 27 with Murrillo registering 12 and Brookyln Garcia knocked down a team-high 14 kills.
Randall standout and Valparaiso University commit Jordyn Gove left it all on the court despite the frustrating loss racking up an eye-opening 32 digs wit 26 kills with four blocks and three aces. Teammate Brooklyn Garcia had a double-double of her own with 18 digs and 15 kills and Sidney Soria was amazing handing out 57 assists with 19 digs for a double-double.
Hereford gets season sweep of Dumas
Hereford is headed back to the UIL Class 4A postseason thanks to getting a season sweep of Dumas.
The Lady Whitefaces had no issues going on the road and beating the Demonettes on Saturday getting a 25-16, 25-19, 29-27, sweep.
Hereford (18-15 overall) is all alone in third place at 9-2 holding a three-game lead on the Canyon Lady Eagles for that third place spot with three regular season matches remaining. Dumas falls to 18-24 overall and 3-8 in District 4-4A.
London Baker continues to be quite the playmaker with 35 assists for the Lady Whitefaces. Kyndal Blair powered home 19 kills and teammate Allee Purcella chipped in 13 kills.
Dumas’ Kennedy Clements led the way with 14 kills and Gabi Alvarez finished with 21 assists.
Canyon holds firm grip on final playoff spot with win over Borger
Canyon came one step closer to clinching the fourth and final playoff spot out of District 4-4A with a 25-16, 25-13, 25-20 win over Borger on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Eagles (19-19) improve to 6-5 in the league. Canyon currently holds a two-game lead on Pampa for that fourth spot with three regular season games remaining. The Lady Bulldogs drop to 16-18, 2-9.
It was a special day for Canyon’s Landri Jay. The junior defensive specialist made 14 digs against Borger giving her 500 digs on the season and putting her over 1,000 digs for her career.
Carli McKinley led the team with 10 kills to go with four aces. Alainna Bellino ran the offense with 17 assists while Cali McKinley benefited with a team-high 10 kills.
Borger’s Emilee Bridges led the team with nine digs, three blocks with three kills.
In another 4-4A match, Pampa swept Perryton 25-15, 25-16, 25-18 on Saturday. The Lady Harvesters (17-17) are two games back of Canyon for the fourth and final playoff spot at 5-7. Perryton is 2-24-2, 0-11.
District 3-5A
Amarillo High rolls over Palo Duro
Amarillo High is closer to clinching at least a share of the District 3-5A championship after sweeping Palo Duro 25-7, 25-13, 25-14 on Friday night.
The Lady Sandies were led by Blair Pennington’s double-double effort of 21 assists and 12 digs. Grace Hughes added nine kills with an assist.
AHS stays perfect in district at 6-0 moving its league win streak to 36 straight games. Palo Duro falls to 17-14-1, 1-4.
Tascosa blisters Caprock
The Tascosa Lady Rebels stayed a game back of Amarillo High for first place in District 3-5A by rolling Caprock in three-sets 25-15, 25-15, 25-14, on Saturday.
The Lady Rebels go to 26-13 overall and 5-0 in district. Caprock is 1-5 in district and 17-16, 1-5.
Meredith Sanning paced the offense for the Lady Rebels with 39 assists. Teammate Ashlyn Kopenits had a strong day on the service line with four aces to go with 12 digs.
District 1-3A
Friona beats up Dalhart
It was another successful Saturday afternoon for the Friona Squaws as they held on to second place in District 1-3A by sweeping Dalhart in three-sets, 25-14, 25-18, 28-26.
Friona sits all alone in second behind Bushland at 4-2 while improving to 28-9 overall. Dalhart is now sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot at 2-4 in the league and 18-12-1 overall.
Aubrey Bunker controlled the game for Squaws with 10 kills, five aces with a pair of digs. Reese Stowers had seven kills in the victory.
River Road rocks Dimmitt
River Road has put together back-to-back wins and for that has taken over third place in District 1-3A.
The Lady Wildcats earned another win on Saturday by handling Dimmitt 25-18, 25-8, 25-12.
The Lady Wildcats currently sit all by themselves in third place at 3-3 while pushing their overall record to 16-12.
Reese DeHart has had quite the week. After a great outing against Dalhart on Tuesday, DeHart came to play Saturday with 24 assists, served up five aces and racked up five digs. Teammate Ava Sharp was on point with 11 digs with four kills.
District 1-1A
Wildorado clinches share of district crown
Wildorado grabbed at least a share of the District 1-1A championship in fine fashion sweeping Kelton on the road Saturday, 25-23, 25-8, 25-15.
The Lady Mustangs (18-4) are 5-0 in district with only one game remaining. As it stands now, Kelton (9-13) is on the outside looking in at the postseason at 0-4 in the league with two games remaining.
Reyna Segovia dished out 23 assists and totaled seven kills against the Lady Lions on Saturday. Sonell Van Wyk followed with 18 assists with six kills.
H.S. District scores
District 2-3A
Lubbock-Cooper Liberty def. Childress 25-14, 25-10, 25-18
Shallowater def. Tulia 25-13, 25-17, 25-13
Idalou def. Littlefield 25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 24-26, 20-18
District 1-2A
Was open on Saturday