On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Lady Cats Volleyball team traveled out to Longview to play the Lady Lobos.
The Lady Cats left Sulphur Springs short-handed as Sadie Washburn and Caroline Hurley were unavailable for today’s game against Longview.
The absence of the two varsity squad members was felt early by the Lady Cats, with the Lady Lobos at one point taking a 21-9 lead. It did not stop there, as the home squad blitzed through set one, 25-13.
The Sulphur Springs varsity squad had another hand tied behind their back in the form of a phantom scoreboard, as two or three points that should have been rewarded to the Lady Cats, ended up going to the Lady Lobos. Add in some errors, and it was not a pretty set for the visiting Lady Cats.
Set two was the opposite, however, for it started hot for the Lady Cats, as they began the set taking a 0-3 lead. But the Lady Lobos fought back, tying set two twice at 7-7 and 9-9. The Lady Cats never quit, though, taking the slugfest second set by a score of 21-25.
Set three was more of the same at the start, as the teams traded the lead multiple times; 4-4, 13-13, and 16-16. After the Lady Cats tied to make it 16-all, the Sulphur Springs varsity squad could not match the tenacity of Longview as the Lady Lobos let their momentum carry them to a 25-19 set three win.
The Lady Cats dominated set four, beating the Lady Lobos by a score of 16-25, making the match dead even going in to set five.
Set five was another back-and-forth affair, as the teams tied at 8-8 and 9-9. From there, though, it was all Lady Cats, all the time as Sulphur Springs scored six straight to pull-out the dramatic, come-from behind win at Longview, 2-3.
Coach Dorner said her squad was kind of “Helter-skelter, all over the place,” with starters Hurley and Washburn not-available for today’s game, but was proud of the way her team found strength through adversity.
“They rose to the occasion,” Coach Dorner said about her short-handed squad versus Longview, but added that the team played for Hurley and Washburn, wishing them a speedy recovery.
“They really stepped up,” Varsity volleyball coach Bailey Dorner said about her squad’s performance, and added that she was really glad to see her team step up tonight as their match went to 5-sets as well.
The Lady Cats Volleyball team now has two 5-set wins in as many weeks. Prior to their Oct. 6 win versus Marshall, the Sulphur Springs varsity squad had not won a match that had gone to five sets since August, during the preseason — of 2019.
On top of that, the Lady Cats have now won five straight games, all of which have been district match-ups.
“It was just a great win tonight,” Coach Dorner said about the victory over Longview, and “to see them step up [like that]… I’m really, really proud of them.”
Next up, the Sulphur Springs Lady Cats (5-1 district, 8-6 overall) will travel to Mt. Pleasant on Friday to take on the Tigers.
