Lady Tigers enter playoffs on high note
Photo by David Kapitan
Hope Turner (10), Olivia McMath (7) and the rest of the Wills Point Lady Tigers completed the season sweep of rival Canton Oct. 23 by scoring a 25-15, 25-22, 25-20 win over the Eaglettes.
The Wills Point Lady Tigers wrapped up the 2018 regular season last week, celebrating senior night with a thrilling five-set triumph over Brownsboro Oct. 19 before spoiling chief rival Canton's senior night with a three-set sweep Oct. 23.
Entering play last Friday night, the Bearettes and Lady Tigers had met once before during the season with Brownsboro stunning state-ranked Wills Point 25-16, 25-21, 25-16 back on Oct. 2. With a possible top-two finish in district hanging in the balance, the Lady Tigers and Bearettes crossed paths for the second and final time during district play Oct. 19 in Wills Point.
Prior to Wills Point’s rematch against the Bearettes, the Tiger athletic program recognized the contributions of senior student-athletes Dawn Smith, Hope Turner, Olivia McMath, Jeslyn Martinez, Harleigh Prather and Melanie Sullivan.
Once play began, Brownsboro looked to be well on its way to continuing their mastery of the Lady Tigers by taking the first set 26-24 and the second set 25-22 to put Wills Point in a 2-0 hole.
In danger of dropping to 6-3 in district play and a tie with the Bearetttes, Wills Point lifted its play by storming back to take the third set 25-21 and the fourth set 26-24 to tie the match heading into the fifth and deciding set.
The Lady Tigers continued to ride the positive momentum down the home stretch, closing out the fifth set with a 15-10 run to move to 27-12 overall including 7-2 in district play with one match to play.
Wills Point would go on to wrap up their regular season on the road, traveling to Canton Oct. 23 for their second of two scheduled matchups with the Eaglettes. Wills Point took care of business the first time the two teams met this season, scoring a 25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23 home win Oct 5.
The Lady Tigers were even sharper on Tuesday night, seizing control early and never looking back en route to a 25-15, 25-22, 25-20 win over the Eaglettes.
Match stats for both the Brownsboro and Canton games were not immediately available as of press time.
Final District 14-4A standings include Van in first at 9-1, followed by Wills Point in second at 8-2, Brownsboro in third at 6-4, Canton in fourth at 5-5, Mabank in fifth at 3-7 and Athens in sixth at 0-10.
The Lady Vandals, Lady Tigers, Bearettees and Eaglettes will now advance to the bi-district round of the playoffs where they will be paired with teams from District 13-4A. Details about first round playoff matchups or possible warmup games are expected to be announced in the coming days.
