5 Set Matches Last Week: Who Pulled Through?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week was a tough one for a lot of teams. Some very intense 5 set matches took place all over the state. As we near the end of September, the season is already halfway over and there is pressure building for playoffs. Below we will highlight 10 games that went 5 matches and talk about a few players from each who were game changers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fossil Ridge vs. Byron Nelson</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Byron Nelson lost a 5-set shocker to Fossil Ridge Friday night. Fossil Ridge's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='124144' first='Lainee' last='Pyles']</strong> came up huge for her team offensively, and she also had several aces. Fossil Ridge's front line of<strong> Dominque Fantroy</strong> and <strong>Aris Morgan</strong> was solid on the block. This is the first district meeting between the two, and I am sure we will see a showdown next time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stephenville vs. Decatur</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stephenville got a huge win against reigning state champions Decatur on Friday night. <strong>Leddy Rae Guinn</strong> of Stephenville provided the Honeybees solid serve receiving and ball control all night, and this allowed hitters like <strong>Audrey Brandon</strong> to swing away all night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friendswood vs. Dawson</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friendswood probably had their biggest district matchup Friday night vs. Dawson, where they squeaked out a much-needed victory. Sophomore hitter <strong>Syndey Gibson</strong> led the team with 10 kills. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181367' first='Kaitlyn' last='Gotsch'] </strong>had an absolutely dominant night at the net with 8 blocks. Freshman setter <strong>Caroline Adams</strong> seems to be coming into her role as she led the team with 23 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Liberty Hill vs. Cedar Park</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty Hill took an incredible 5-set win over Cedar Park Friday night which boosted them to a 3-0 district start. Junior right-side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='177545' first='Giovanna' last='Mason']</strong> had a stellar night for Liberty Hill. She pounded the ball right down the line and set up the block very well. Number 2 <strong>Kealy Dirner</strong> also had herself a night on the outside, tooling the block really well and hitting around Cedar Park's block. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Braunfels vs. Brandeis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lady Unicorns hosted Brandeis for a non-district game Friday night, where they avoided the reverse sweep and came away with set 5. Senior pin hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='200650' first='Randi' last='Rush']</strong> led all New Braunfels hitters with 19 kills. The Unicorns played on a very balanced defense with <strong>Evyn Clark </strong>and <strong>Sofia Bendele</strong> both posting over 20 digs each. Brandeis'<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='142213' first='Lola' last='Davila']</strong> had herself a night defensively with 44 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Midlothian Heritage vs. Mansfield Timberview</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Midlothian Heritage's outside hitters came up big during their 5-set win over Timberview.<strong> Emilee Casey</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='177528' first='Grace' last='Sweeney']</strong> both had double-digit kills and were unstoppable through most of the 5th set. <strong>Brooklyn Wilhoite</strong> was also super aggressive behind the service line with 7 aces. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crowley vs. Chisolm Trail</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crowley got a great team win over Chisolm Trail taking set 5 15-23. Sophomore pin hitter <strong>Aurianna Nails</strong>&nbsp;was aggressive from the outside and put away 13 kills for Crowley. Junior <strong>Kinzley Riggins</strong> has shown how much she has been improving on her blocking with 6 blocks on the night. The Lady Eagles were also led on the ball-handling side by senior captain <strong>Jaden Polovina,</strong> who showed poise and leadership during the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wylie East vs. Wylie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wylie East kept their perfect district record intact after a scare vs. Wylie Tuesday night. They can attribute their success to their very balanced offensive front. They had 4 hitters in double digits, led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='183967' first='Julia' last='Hicks'] </strong>with 15 kills. Libero <strong>Charleigh Stevens</strong> was fantastic in serve receive, passing 46 balls, a season-high for her, with only 2 errors in 5 sets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brenham vs. A&amp;M Consolidated</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brenham got the reverse sweep against Consolidated coming back to win the last 3 sets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='178811' first='Kristen' last='Kuehn'] </strong>came up big in serve receive and in digs as she led the team in both categories. Although the Lady Cubs had a rough night blocking, they were able to pull it together on the back row and come up big down the stretch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Orangefield vs. Warren</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orangefield got a big win against Warren to stay perfect in district standings. Senior outside hitter <strong>Mackenzie Haley</strong> was pounding the ball from the outside. Orangefield also had a great blocking game led by junior <strong>Greenlea Oldham</strong> who had several blocks for points in the final sets of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->