PG girls sweep Atlanta

ATLANTA, Texas—In her final regular-season match, Pleasant Grove senior Aubrey Ashby was dominant at the net and a leader in the clutch, powering the Lady Hawks to a 25-14, 25-18, 30-28 over an athletic Atlanta squad.

Ashby had 18 kills and a handful of blocks that kept Atlanta’s tall and quick front line from gaining momentum.

In third and decisive game, with the Lady Rabbs battling to extend the match, it was Ashby’s booming kill just inside the line that put the Hawks up, 29-28. A moment later, her block at the net ended the evening at 30-28.

Atlanta, which won the junior varsity and 9th grade matches, seemed intent on making a clean-sweep of things. The early part of the first game was a see-saw affair.

With the score 13-11, Pleasant Grove went on an 11-3 run to put it away. Ashby had three kills, including a thunderous shot to the corner, on the run. Anna Miller added some strong play at the net, including a kill shot and Carley Barrett had a key block. Nakina Levingstone added a fast kill

shot to get the final point.

The run was typical of the Hawks’ effort all night — steady defense, patient passing, aggressive play at the nets.

“We passed well all night,” said PG coach Amy Collvins. “Our setters gave us a lot of options on defense.”

In the final game, the Hawks opened an 8-2 lead, but Atlanta went on an 8-0 run powered by Jada Washington’s five aces.

With TeShuna Shepard and Keandra Thomas hitting kill shots, the Rabbs opened a 15-10 lead.

The Hawks regained the lead on the strength of two kills shots each by Ashby and Brett Wacha. The two teams were tied at 16 and stayed within one point of each other until Ashby’s heroics at the end.

Collvins attributed her players’ tenacity at the end to self-confidence.

“A lot of it is just believing you can win,” she said. “I told them they didn’t want to let Atlanta hang around and believe they can win, because they’re very athletic and they were playing hard.”

Blair Smith had eight digs for the Hawks, Barrett had eight blocks and Miller had 18 assists.

Atlanta’s jayvee won, 25-16, 19-25, 27-25. The Rabbs’ 9th graders won 17-25, 25-18, 25-21.

The win, coupled with Paris’ win over Liberty-Eylau, assured PG third place in the final District 15-4A standings. The Hawks will play Bullard, the runner-up from District 16-4A.