Ladycats defeat Northwest

It’s been a long time coming, but it finally happened on Tuesday, Oct. 3. 

After being swept by Northwest last season and suffering their lone district defeat of the year to the Lady Texans last month, Aledo’s varsity Ladycats (25-8 overall, 6-1 in district) upended their toughest district for three sets to one as they secured their place atop the District 5-5A rankings.

The match was a battle of state-ranked teams. Northwest came in ranked 20th in Class 5A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association and Aledo is 25th.

While the Lady Texans were a solid volleyball club the last two seasons, Aledo has been a salty bunch in their own right. In spite of how the two teams should’ve matched up competitively, there has been something about Northwest that Aledo has struggled to overcome in prior meetings between the two. 

That ended on Tuesday when the Ladycats came away with a hard-fought victory with scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, and 25-17 to take the match.

Since returning from injury, Vivian Parker has been electric. In the match against Northwest, Parker amassed 23 kills, 20 digs, and a block for the Ladycats. 

Ava Reding picked up 42 assists on Tuesday to bring her season total to 732. The junior setter is flirting with 1,000 assists on the season with six matches remaining on the regular season schedule, along with the postseason. She also had four digs, two aces, and a block against the Lady Texans.

Along with Parker, Kinley Elms and Alyssa Todd finished the match with double-digit kills. Elms notched 13, while Todd picked up 11.

Morgan Estevez collected three aces to lead the Ladycats at the service line. Logyn Denbow and Ella Meador also picked up an ace apiece.

Haley Lowe continued her dominance at the net with four more blocks in the match, bringing her season total to 86.

Looking at digs, Meador, Kenrie Pruitt, and Estevez all made a double-digit contribution to go along with Parker’s 20. Meador scooped up 18 in the match. Pruitt and Estevez added 13 and 10, respectively. 

Next up on the schedule for the Ladycats is a trip to Granbury on Friday, Oct. 6. Aledo will look to plunder the second-place Lady Pirates on their home court. Aledo won their previous outing back on Sept. 12, three sets to one. Friday’s matchup is slated to get underway at 6 p.m.