Lady Tigers continue dominance
Special to the Gazette
Texas High swept past Royse City Friday evening at Tiger Center to remain undefeated, 7-0, in District 15-5A volleyball.
After a sluggish start, the Lady Tigers (22-10) defeated the Lady Bulldogs, 25-23, 25-11, 25-20.
“I’m proud of the way we came back in the first game after falling behind 20-15,” said Texas High coach Melissa Trotter-Hardy. “We played a lot better after that. It was a total team effort.”
The Tigers own a twogame district lead over Lindale (29-10, 5-2), which dropped a five-set match Friday to Sulphur Springs.
After being tied at 6-6 in the first game, Texas High reeled off four straight points for a 10-6 advantage, with Olivia Lower serving.
Royse City roared back to tie before taking a 17-13 lead on five consecutive points, with Morgan Kobe serving. The Lady Bulldogs then stretched their lead to 20-15.
The Tigers went on a 7-2 run to knot the score at 22-all, and won the set, 25-23, on a block by Kaitlyn Cross.
It was another close start in Game 2, with neither team leading by more than one point. Then Texas High took control, outscoring Royse City, 17-3, to easily win the game, 25-11. Outstanding play by Lower, Cross and Victoria Willis with wellplaced shots was the deciding factor.
Texas High took a 10-4 lead in the third game, but the scrappy Bulldogs fought back to tie the game 13-13.
A kill by Cross put THS back in the lead temporarily before Royse City regained the lead, 15-14.
Five straight points by the Tigers—with Cross serving—put the Tigers ahead 19-15, and the hosts held on for a 25-20 victory.
Treyaunna Rush paced the Tigers with 19 service points, 16 assists and eight kills. Cross had a big game with 15 points and 10 kills. Lower chipped in with 11 kills and 10 points, and Willis had 14 points and 11 digs. Katelyn Jordan added 10 points.
Texas High will play host to Mount Pleasant at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Texas High lost the junior varsity match, 25-18, 25-20. Ellison Davis had seven service points for the Tigers.
THS won the ninth-grade match, 27-25, 17-25, 25-23, behind the serving of Alex Reed’s 15 points.