The varsity Lady Bear Volleyball team defeated Bullard last night in five thrilling sets to claim the bi-district championship in the first round of playoffs. The Lady Bears will play the winner of Huffman and Houston Furr, but the time and place for the next round has yet to be determined.
Stat leaders were the following:
Kills: Paisley Angelle (22), Lindi Perry (7), Asia Woodson (7), Jazel Guilbeaux (6), Ava White (4), Miya Hoy (2), and Jada Montagne (1)
Assists: Jada Montagne (25), Miya Hoy (21)
Aces: Paisley Angelle (4), Jada Montagne (3), Miya Hoy (2), Ava White (1), Asia Woodson (1)
Blocks: Lindi Perry (3), Ava White (1)
Digs: Ava White (21), Miya Hoy (14), Jada Montagne (14), Paisley Angelle (11), Asia Woodson (7), Aubrey Temple (6), Lindi Perry (5), Jazel Guilbeaux (5), Janniliz Nazario (2), and Aadi Day (1).
“I could use one word to describe last night: resilient,” head coach Johnathan Snipes said. “This team, these girls, from the bench to the court, they are resilient in a way I’ve never seen.”
The Lady Bears started off the first set with two aces and were up 2-0, but then went on to lose the set, 12-25.
“I can’t put exact words on what happened, but we just couldn’t execute,” Snipes said. “A lot of good decisions that didn’t work out coupled with poor decisions and you find yourself in quicksand and that’s a dangerous place to be. We talked before the second set and the beautiful thing about volleyball is no matter how the previous set goes, it’s now 0-0. Just like the girls have all year, they responded. They handled Bullard the next two sets.”
After Bullard took the fourth set, 25-22, the Lady Bears went into the last and final set with a newfound determination. They snagged the win, 15-9, and clinched the bi-district title.
“Winning this game was just a big weight off my shoulders for numerous reasons, but mainly because this was a very tough first round match-up,” Snipes said. “You can’t always play the transitive property, but at the beginning of the year they had beaten two teams we lost to so it’s fair to say they might have been better than us two months ago. I felt like we had grown a lot this year and to beat that team while playing well, but not our best, really shows me how much we have grown.”
Snipes said the girls were 32-13 going into the game, which tied them for the second most wins in program history. Getting the win last night puts this year’s team as the team with the second most wins in program history (33), and he feels this is something the team should be proud about.
“At the end of the day, this is just a game,” Snipes said. “It’s not life, but it can teach us so much about life and help us become the best us. Twenty years from now, this team will be talking about this season, the friendships they have made, and reminiscing over certain special moments. I know it will mean a lot more to them for years to come adding a playoff win to that conversation. I don’t think anyone was ready for the season to be over. We wanted at least two more days, and now we have that.”
