Burnet volleyball sweeps Lampasas
CAPTION: Burnet senior hitter Journey Denton splits the Lampasas blockers to score a point for the Lady Dawgs during the first district contest between the two teams. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School volleyball team crushed Lampasas 25-8, 25-10, 25-14 Sept. 16 in its third District 24-4A match.
Head coach Crystal Shipley agreed that her Lady Dawgs (17-6, 2-1) played at a high level from start to finish in this match.
“The girls did that on their own,” she said. “We’ve talked all week about what was the difference in the Marble Falls (match) and the Salado (match) with their mentality, and it was more of the pressure of beating Marble Falls. There’s more level competition (against the Lady Mustangs). And it made them more nervous, and it was in front of a home crowd. And (Marble Falls) brought a good crowd. And then you go to Salado. With being the underdog, it took a lot of that pressure off you and played them with nothing to lose. And so we’ve been working on that mentality of we’ve got to play regardless of who’s on the other side of the net – we have to play our game.”
The Lady Dawgs (17-6, 2-1) were rarely threatened throughout the contest against the Lady Badgers that took about 80 minutes to finish. They raced to solid leads in the first set and exchanged points with the Lady Badgers (10-13, 1-2) at the start of the final two sets.
Still, Burnet showed its depth and ability to generate points in a hurry thanks to the outstanding play of senior hitters Journey Denton and Wrigley Mulhollan, junior hitter Peyton McCabe, freshman hitter Landry Schubert and freshman middle blocker Taylor Smith.
Setters Brooklynn Dawes, a sophomore, and Marisa Porter, a freshman, kept their teammates involved in the offense and kept the Lady Badgers and fans guessing on who was going to get the ball next.
Senior libero Payton Smith continues to be the mainstay on the back row with solid passes to the setters and being unafraid to dig whatever comes her way.
Senior Grace Cullison and sophomore defensive specialist Alexis Clark were the servers who helped deliver numerous points in the first and second games.
Shipley said one trait turns players into consistent servers.
“Serving comes with that confidence because they get mental self-talk,” she said. “Grace … did not serve for me last year. She’s playing a different position (on the front row from last year). But she’s just filled in where we’ve needed her.”
Her players’ demeanor throughout the match is what stuck out to the coach.
“We played more calm for the first time at home,” she said. “We have not been calm at home. This is cliche, but it was a team effort and everybody got to play. And there’s three who haven’t seen a lot of court time, and they came in and they knew what to do. It was a team effort.”
Though the Lady Dawgs lost to Salado 12-25, 17-25, 18-25 Sept. 12, Shipley commended her players on their mentality and effort.
“(No one wants) to lose, but they didn’t play scared and (the Lady Eagles are) big, and they’re strong,” she said. “And our defense without those big heavy hitters? Our defense would beat them, but it’s hard when they can hit over our block. We (set) a lot of blocks. But when they hit over it because they’re bigger, there’s not a lot you can do – you’re guessing on defense.”
Burnet welcomes Taylor (8-15, 1-1) Friday, Sept. 19, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 6 p.m. The Lady Ducks beat Jarrell 16-25, 25-18, 25-19, 14-25, 15-6 on the road Sept. 16 and lost to Lampasas 17-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25 Sept. 9.
“I love this team is so unselfish,” Shipley said. “They know that some are not getting to play. And when I put them in, you don’t see the pouting that you see on some teams.”
CAPTION: Senior hitter Grace Cullison was a force behind the service line against Lampasas. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
