WESTWORTH VILLAGE - Following a tune-up win over Boswell on Friday, Oct. 27, Aledo’s Ladycats headed to Castleberry High School for the first round of the UIL 5A volleyball playoffs against the North Side Lady Steers. While the site may have been neutral, the play on the court was one-sided as Aledo decimated North Side to secure the bidistrict title.
Coming off a spectacular regular season where the Ladycats went 33-8 overall and 11-1 in District 5-5A play for the league title, Aledo secured the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. Facing the No. 3 seed Lady Steers from District 6-5A, the reigning district champs quickly dismissed North Side by scores of 25-2, 25-9, and 25-10.
The Ladycats once again advanced to the area round of the playoffs and were playing Birdville (28-13), the third-place team from 7-5A.
The end was never in doubt throughout the match against North Side, as Aledo jumped out to large leads in each of the sets to put North Side in a dire position they were unable to recover from. While it was a rough night for the Lady Steers, for Aledo it was an opportunity to get some of the less experienced players on the varsity squad some much-needed playoff reps.
“Everybody stepped up in their own role tonight,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said following the match. “Everybody got some reps in the match and got that playoff experience. I’m proud of them for getting through this evening and staying focused enough to persevere.”
The Lady Steers struggled to deal with Aledo’s offensive firepower. Kinley Elms led the Ladycat offensive onslaught with a dozen kills on the night behind a sharpshooter-like performance that had her finding holes in the defense all match.
“ has transitioned to an offensive player,” Gay said of the 6-foot tall junior. “She’s gotten a lot smarter at the net, as far as where to swing and when. She worked very hard in the offseason to get to this point. She’s a great blocker on top of that. She’s definitely a force to be reckoned with on the right side.”
Haley Lowe, who usually anchors Aledo’s defense in the middle of the floor and collected 100 blocks during the regular season, has made more contributions to the offense in recent matches. On top of collecting her typical four blocks on Monday night, Lowe earned six kills from her middle blocker position.
“She’s so long,” Gay stated. “She reads well. She’s quick to react. She’s playing very well. Offensively, she’s stepping up big time. That’s something we’ve worked on the last couple of weeks.”
Then there’s Vivian Parker, the competitive motor for the squad. The Mizzou commit ended the night with 10 digs, six kills, and five aces – a tribute to her growth as a great all-around player according to Gay.
“She’s doing a wonderful job being a leader for this team,” commended Gay. “She’s got a lot of high-level experience. She’s played on some wonderful teams. She always has questions, wants to learn, and wants to work harder to get better every single day. It’s super admirable as a senior to still have that mentality, to work hard, and continue to grow through the game. I’m really proud of her for being a great leader, and stepping up on the floor, especially defensively. Her defense has gotten so much better just over the last couple of years that I’ve had her.”
The Ladycats weren’t just dominant at the net on Monday. They dominated at the service line, as well. In total, Aledo scored 10 aces in the match. To go along with Parker’s five aces, Ava Reding added three of her own. Madison Widmayer added a pair of aces as well.
To go along with her three aces, Reding scored a pair of blocks – a rarity for her. But her greatest contribution once again, came in her ability to set her teammates up for their attack. Reding picked up 24 assists, as nearly one-third of Aledo’s points in the match came off her passes.
Other notable statistics in the match, Kenrie Pruitt and Ella Meador ended the night with eight and seven digs, respectively. Skyler Lambert and Karsyn Trott both picked up a pair of blocks defensively for the Ladycats in the win.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here