Burnet volleyball continues tourney success
CAPTION: The Burnet High School volleyball team wears the silver medals from the Gatesville Tournament the Lady Dawgs won Aug. 21- and 23. The team includes Ava Alexander (front row, left), Lexie Clark, Payton Smith, Grace Cullison, Journey Denton; Peyton McCabe (middle row, left), Marisa Porter, Cali Eason, Sarah Cullison, Brianne Smith, Brooklynn Dawes, Peyton Allen, Wrigley Mulhollan, Landry Schubert and Taylor Smith (back). Courtesy photo
The Burnet High School volleyball team went 3-1 at the West Tournament hosted by West High School Aug. 28-30.
The Lady Dawgs (13-5) defeated West 25-18, 25-19, 25-17, Franklin 25-5, 25-11, 25-18, and Crawford 25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-21. The only loss was to Fairfield 21-25, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25 during the “showcase round robin.”
“Things really started to click,” head coach Crystal Shipley said. “The girls battled through four full matches against strong programs. Our defense kept the ball off the floor, our front row made their presence known at the net, and our offensive chemistry showed great improvement. The progress was clear, and it was exciting to watch everything come together.”
The tournament was on the heels of losing to Johnson City 12-25, 25-22, 19-25, 11-25 Aug. 26 on the road. The Lady Eagles are the defending Class 2A Division I state champions.
“It was a rough game for us,” Shipley said. “Nothing seemed to go our way for points in a row. JC servers were serving lights out, which created struggle throughout the match.”
Still, the Lady Dawgs showed the fight the community is known for.
Trailing 17-22 in the second set, Burnet got its run started by a Lady Eagles error. From there, senior outside hitter Journey Denton angled a spike off the block and another Johnson City error forced the Lady Eagles into a timeout.
But it didn’t matter as the Lady Dawgs blocked the Johnson City spike to trim the deficit to 21-22. A serve-receive error and a hitting hitting error gave the Lady Dawgs a 23-22 advantage. Burnet used a dink and a Denton kill to win the set 25-22.
“We do have several players that are scoring threats, including our setters,” Shipley said. “It is helpful playing against great teams with a good block. We will continue to try to run a fast offense, so we can split the block. I was proud of them for finishing strong.”
The third set began much the way the second set ended – with each team matching each other point for point. Even when Johnson City took a 16-12 lead, the Lady Dawgs won six of the next seven points to lead 18-17. But a service error and kills by the Lady Eagles allowed Johnson City to lead 23-19. The set ended on a service ace and a dink off a bad Burnet pass.
“We struggled getting a block on their outside hitters, and that made it hard to get defense in great position to make great passes,” the coach said. “We are working daily on timing of the block because we do have some incredible blockers.”
Burnet travels to play at Fredericksburg Tuesday, Sept. 2, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6 p.m. then the Lady Dawgs welcome Killeen Shoemaker Friday, Sept. 5, with the subvarsities playing at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity at 6:30 p.m.
“It was a great week for the program, and we’re excited to keep building,” Shipley said. “It’s been encouraging to see the growth in every one of our girls day by day. We’d love to see you in the stands supporting our Lady Dawgs.”
STATISTICS
For the week of Aug. 26-30
Kills – Journey Denton 34, Grace Cullison 34, Landry Schubert 32, Peyton McCabe 27, Taylor Smith 20, Wrigley Mulhollan 19, Marisa Porter 4, Brooklynn Dawes 3, Brianne Smith 1, Payton Smith 1; assists – Dawes 77, Porter 60, P. Smith 15, Denton 5, P. Allen 1, G. Cullison 1, McCabe 1, Schubert 1, Smith 1; aces – Denton 12, Dawes 9, Porter 8, P. Smith 6, Clark 5, G. Cullison 5; blocks – Schubert 16, T. Smith 15, Mulhollan 11, McCabe 10, Denton 7, G. Cullison 6; digs – P. Smith 87, Denton 66, Porter 43, Dawes 28, G. Cullison 21, S. Cullison 18, Allen 13, Schubert 11, McCabe 8, Mulhollan 7, Smith 7, Lexie Clark 6, Calie Eason 2, Ava Alexander 2, B. Smith 1
