Ladycats fire on all cylinders in dominant win

In their third District 5-5A outing of the season, the Aledo Ladycats volleyball team hosted the Saginaw Lady Roughriders on homecoming night. Before the Aledo football team shined under the bright Friday night lights, the Ladycats showed out in their home gymnasium, dominating Saginaw in straight sets by a final score of 25-10, 25-9 and 25-5.

“They were doing a really good job of just sitting back and letting us swing, so we decided to make shots happen after the fifth point,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said. “When they started throwing in different shots in space, we started to see more offensive production. We served well and moved the ball around while throwing them on their toes.”

Aledo began to pull away from Saginaw early in the opening set. A big block from senior middle blocker Haley Lowe followed by two kills apiece from star junior Alyssa Todd and Lowe turned an 8-7 lead into a 13-7 advantage, forcing a Saginaw timeout call in the process.

Senior middle blocker Ella Isbell forced Saginaw’s second timeout of the set after she pushed the ball to the back line for a kill and added a traditional slam to the hardwood on the next point, which put Aledo’s lead at 20-9. Todd served aces on two of Aledo’s final three points to secure the first-set victory.

Todd put down a kill for a 5-1 lead in the second set as Aledo continued to fire on all cylinders. Later, junior outside hitter Tatum Kosse put down a kill that preceded a Saginaw hitting error, which put Aledo in front 14-6. The Ladycats claimed a double-digit lead at 16-6 following back-to-back kill shots from senior Kinley Elms and Lowe. Aledo continued to gain separation throughout, outscoring Saginaw 11-4 from the 14-6 point of the set.

After that, Aledo played its best all-around set of the match in the decisive third game, running away for a 20-point win. Gay’s emphasis on expanding each players’ offensive and defensive skill sets in practice proved to have paid dividends in Aledo’s red-hot start to district play.

“We worked on a lot of different types of shots for each of our hitters in practice,” Gay said. “We challenged them to hit different, challenging locations on the court and what to do to score. When you get to the next level where you have good defenders in front of you and behind the ball, they’re going to dig you off the court. We really focused on changing pace and direction with our attackers’ hitting – where on the court can they score and what do they have to do to score?”

Todd led the offense with 13 kills to go with 12 digs, four aces and two blocks. Elms poured in seven kills while Lowe added six kills and four blocks. Setters Ava Reding and Sophie Frank combined for 26 assists while Kailey Hamilton added five assists. Senior libero Kenrie Pruitt anchored the backline defense with a team-high 23 digs while senior Ella Meador had 14 digs. Kosse and Isbell combined for five blocks.

The Ladycats (21-7, 3-0) were defending their home court once more while going for their 11th straight victory as they were hosting Azle at press time. To this point, Aledo has won nine sets in their three matches against zero losses.

They will follow that match by traveling to Chisholm Trail on Tuesday, Oct. 1 for a 6 p.m. match.