Burnet volleyball on district winning streak
CAPTION: Burnet freshman Landry Schubert made her presence known as she contributed to wins against Jarrell and Taylor to set up a showdown with Georgetown Gateway for second place in the District 24-4A standings. Photos by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School volleyball team is on a three-match winning streak in District 24-4A play, all played inside The Doghouse, with one match remaining in the first round.
It’s against Georgetown Gateway (18-6, 3-1), which will be played Tuesday, Sept. 30, in Georgetown in a battle for second place in the district standings. The subvarsities play at 5 p.m. and the varsity follows.
“Winning at home is important,” Burnet head coach Crystal Shipley said. “I love how my girls got themselves out of a ‘hole’ several times this past week. We are working on what we need to do to get going sooner in a match.”
The Lady Dawgs (19-6, 4-1) defeated Jarrell Sept. 23 and Taylor Sept. 19 by identical 3-1 match scores. In both contests the opponents won the first set.
Shipley noted a clear message was given during the three-minute intermission between the first and second sets of both matches.
“I did get on them pretty hard about giving so many points to the other team,” she said. “We just made too many errors and didn’t earn enough of our own points. It’s not that we played bad, we just have to put the ball away on our own more. My girls work hard daily to improve our offense. I never question their hearts or effort – they give everything they have.”
That was evident in the way the matches played out.
After losing the first set to Jarrell 23-25, the Lady Dawgs went on a tear. They won the next three sets 25-20, 25-15, 25-11 for the victory.
Senior Grace Cullison led the way with 12 kills followed by freshman Landry Schubert with 8, freshman Marisa Porter had 7, senior Journey Denton and freshman Taylor Smith each contributed 6, senior Wrigley Mulhollan had 4, senior Payton Smith recorded 2 and Lexie Clark finished with 1.
Sophomore setter Brooklynn Dawes had 19 assists followed by Porter with 17 and Payton Smith had 4.
Denton recorded 3 aces, while Clark had 2 and Dawes and Porter each had 1.
Payton Smith led with 19 digs, while Denton contributed 18, Porter and Dawes each had 12, Schubert recorded 5, senior Sarah Cullison had 4, Grace Cullison had 3, senior Peyton Allen, Clark and Mulhollan each had 1.
Schubert led with 5 blocks followed by Mulhollan with 3, Porter had 2 and Grace Cullison, Denton and Taylor Smith each had 1.
Burnet lost the first set to Taylor 25-27 then left no doubt in prevailing 25-11, 25-15, 25-13.
Shipley offered insight as to why the Lady Dawgs look stronger the longer the match is played.
“My girls adapt well usually,” she said. “Their timing gets better in every aspect, such as blocking and hitting. You learn the other team’s tendencies and make adjustments. I think that is a big factor for my Lady Dawgs. They are coachable and they adapt.”
The coach pointed out the traits of her team that pleases her.
“Overcoming being down and things not working – getting over it and making something work,” she said. “Unselfishness. They want success for this team, no matter how that looks. Being coachable. Listening to our staff and making things happen.”
