No. 1 Ladycats conclude regular season unblemished in district play

The No. 1 Aledo Ladycats volleyball team ended its regular season in impressive fashion with landmark achievements and history in tow. The Ladycats completed the sweep of district opponents – winning in three sets in every single league match – with a victory at home over Chisholm Trail by a final score of 25-10, 25-15, and 25-13. On subvarsity level, the JV (28-26, 25-7) and ninth grade A team (25-9, 25-16) took care of business as Aledo’s entire volleyball program recorded undefeated district championship seasons.

“That feeling we’ve held onto this season is the feeling of losing 15-13 in the fifth set at the state semifinal match,” Ladycats head coach Claire Gay said. “You don’t ever want to compare a team to last year’s team because it is a completely different team, but you want to remember that feeling. You hope that having 11 seniors and one underclassman that participated in that loss, that they really remember that. It’s been a driving force for them to remember how bitter that moment was. Props to McKinney North, they played an excellent match and played very perfectly against us. They were deserving state champions and played extremely consistently.”

Fueled by past painful memories, Aledo turned those battle scars into battle armor this season. One of the best weapons of these warriors? Their service game. The Ladycats aced Chisholm Trail 15 times as a team and saw plenty of hard serves get easy returns for the Aledo offense to put away.

“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on aggressive serving and practice using those for our serve-receive because we just want to continue getting better and more consistent,” said Ladycats junior libero Karsyn Evans, who served three aces. “I personally struggle with that, but I am getting better as the season goes on and staying confident in my serve and just serving really aggressively.”

While the Ladycats were peppering red hot serves onto the Chisholm Trail side out the court, star senior Alyssa Todd, rising junior Kaelee Berkley, and the rest of Aledo’s stalwart front court were hammering kills to the hardwood. Whether it was an in-system set from senior setters Sophie Frank or Kailey Hamilton, or an out-of-system bumpset from Evans or Kenley Hamilton, Aledo’s front line was having its way as the Ladycats quickly built a double-digit lead at 16-5, courtesy of a beautiful setup out of the middle for senior Lily Lufkin. From there, the Lady Rangers used their second timeout, but Aledo finished the set on a 9-5 advantage courtesy of two aces from Todd and kills from Berkley and Payton Patrick.

The visitors hung closer with Aledo in the early stages of the second set, but Aledo used a 5-0 run to turn an 11-6 lead into a 16-6 margin, forcing a timeout call by Chisholm Trail. During the closing stretch, an ace by Todd, kill by Savannah Thompson, and an ace by Evans ended the second set. The Ladycats notched five aces in the third set, and Todd and Berkley showcased the abilities from the outside pins to close out Chisholm Trail.

Recently, Gay notched her 600th career win as a head coach following a previous sweep victory at Fossil Ridge, a win tally she shares between her only two head coaching stints – Decatur and Aledo.

“It’s been a lot of really good volleyball and a lot of really hard work,” Gay said of her achievement. “It’s just a number but that number is given to the girls and every coach that’s been along this journey with me and all the hard times, work, and time we put into this at the end of the day. They just compete and I’m so grateful for that. To have that opportunity to reach 600 as a milestone, it goes on your name, but it’s more so everyone else than it is you at the end of the day. I feel officially old. I’ve seen a lot of volleyball in my career and I’ve seen a lot of really good volleyball, and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach really wonderful kids and have the support from not only them, but their families and the communities. I’ve only had two different jobs – Decatur and here – so I’m very, very grateful.”

Todd led the way with 11 kills, 13 digs, four aces, and one block while Berkley added eight kills, eight digs, and two aces. Trott finished the night with five kills and two blocks while Patrick had four kills and a block. Frank tallied 19 assists and four digs while Kailey Hamilton compiled 12 assists, four digs, and two aces. Evans totaled nine digs and three aces while Kenley Hamilton poured in five digs and two aces. Kennedy Christie also chipped in with a pair of kills and a block while Lufkin and Evie Revard each had two kills. The win gave Aledo its 20th in a row as it prepares to enter the postseason.

“I’m proud of our teamwork, we’ve really come far together this season,” Evans said. “I know that most of them are from varsity last year, I’m not. I came from a different school. So, I came back and just worked really hard, and they welcomed me to the team and had my back through thick and thin from the start. I’m so grateful to be a part of this kind of teamwork. I know they are really wanting to get back at McKinney North, so I’m really excited to help them get there and I’m excited to play Colleyville on Thursday. I think it will be a good match and I think we’re ready to beat them.”

The Ladycats (37-2, 12-0) will begin their postseason at 7 p.m. Thursday against Colleyville Heritage at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center in the bi-district round.